June 2, 2018 – Week 4, Day 3

5 Minutes 35lbs Sled Walk (on turf)

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

Yoke (with drops at 50’)
210x100’ in 12.81 seconds
300x100’ in 13.71 seconds
400x100’ in 14.30 seconds
500x100’ in 15.64 seconds

Sandbag Rows
150x5
200x5

Mouser Block Carry (off floor, turns at 50’)
254x463’3”
303x412’1”

Stretching

Comments: Had a somewhat relaxing end to the week. Right shoulder is still achy and that is annoying. Have deep tissue massage scheduled for Monday after work so hopefully that alleviates that. Been carrying a lot of tension in my neck, shoulders and upper back as of late. I had a later start to my day than I wanted to as I had some rumblings in my stomach. So I was running maybe two hours behind what I wanted to be. Today wasn’t going to be too bad as far as the training so this was ok to be running late. This gym is open all day unlike the last gym (which I have learned has since folded). They were having an open gym today with seminars, classes and food. I wasn’t thinking too much about that as I’ve been to other places that have offered that and didn’t notice much change. This was different. The place was packed and hopping. So much so that they rented a port-a-potty. I figured I’d wait until I actually really needed to use the restroom. With how many bodies there were, I figured I wasn’t getting done anything quickly today. Did walking on turf with the sled though it wasn’t ideal with all the foot traffic. I walked in a smaller area this time. Calf raise stuff was easy. Nice and springy so good sign. Goblet box squats after that. Knees ached. I was a little puzzled by this as this is the second time in a row but I think it’s because I usually do bike on this day and moving the knee in a larger ROM is better for this. But the bike at the gym isn’t very comfortable. RDLs with a barbell after that. My favorite Kendrick Lamar song started playing when I got this setup so I was moving fast and crisp here haha. Band rows were great as were push-ups. I was expected protestations from my shoulders but nothing. Easy plank hold followed by the biceps stretches. Found a bench that worked well for the stretches. Outside to do the hip swings. Right shoulder ached a little supporting myself against the wall. Didn’t feel as hot as last week. Now for weights. This workout was to be the workout I did last week albeit heavier on two of the exercises. Pushed this one out a week to help with recovery since it had a lot of moving going on. First up for the day was yoke. Yoke and farmer’s will be alternated weekly the rest of the cycle. 50’ down, drop and turn and 50’ back. They have three yokes here. Two Rogue and one that is unknown but has a thin crossbar and is very wobbly. The one Rogue yoke is more standard but the other one has a thicker dual crossbar and it a bit beefier. That was the one I wanted to use. I had assumed the competition yoke was going to be the one they have at the gym the promoter works at but it appears it will be Bartos equipment. The yokes are narrower compared to that but the thicker crossbar is a good match. 300lbs was to be the first working weight but I figured I wanted to do a run with the empty yoke first since I’ve never used this one before. I feel like my drop and turn is very good on yoke as there is very little hesitation to get back under and go with it. I do think I get a little to one side maybe. Knees were a little achy on the pick with 400lbs and 500lbs but no issues while moving. 400lbs I think was the first set where I actually “woke” up as it was only about half a second slower than my set with 300lbs. I was dripping with sweat before my run with 500lbs. It was good but I feel I could be faster. But I want to make sure I have control on the drop as well as not run into the wall at the end. I noticed afterwards that the yoke is coming up off the ground before I have even got my feet planted flat on the ground. Not sure if that is because this yoke has no “flex” in it when it is tightened or if this is something new as I looked through my other videos of yoke and I’m not seeing this happen. Just found it interesting. The next exercise was more of a warm-up for the last event of the day. Been a while since I’ve done the sandbag rows. This was supposed to be three sets to a decent weight but still shy of a max effort. Kind of glad this was lighter with the sweat dripping off me and how this can be biceps stressful. The new place has them all in a corridor which had a lot of stuff in it today so a fair number of people. Just got it over with so that I could get on to the last thing. No biceps issues thankfully. Last thing had been my chose as far as max distance carry. Either due keg, sandbag or block. Two runs with turns at 50’ with the plan being one grip style (harder version) the first run with the lighter weight and another style (easier version) for the heavier run. At this point, the only show I have coming up with a carry is a block so that made the most sense. Sandbag at this time only goes up to 275lbs as the leadshot bag burst. I’ve never done a block carry before and the most weight I’ve put in the Mouser block is just over 200lbs. My block was in a storage room so it was a struggle to get it out of there. I was worried that the Allen wrench got lost in the move as it wasn’t on the block. Plan was to do 250lbs or so for the first run, holding it like I was about to load it and then 300lbs or so for the next run and holding it like I would for staggered grip husafell carry. I had no idea how this was going to go. I wondered if I would even be able to get it in my lap. I put on a fresh shirt and got to work. 254lbs went up pretty easy and I was at 100’ in no time. I started playing with my hand position at that point. The block has “feet” on the corners and I started with my hands on the sides and tried the top feet. That didn’t feel any more secure than what I was doing so I put one hand on the bottom feet and one on the top feet. That felt a lot better. I went 150’ with the staggered grip and decided to see if holding both bottom feet would be an even better grip. It was risky as every time I stopped to adjust my hands was a chance it would slip out of my hands. It paid off as it felt like I was locked it. I got a little over 200’ more before my legs were gassed. I was not expecting getting over 450’ on this thing. Took a longer rest to let my forearms stop throbbing and cool off a little. Weight up to 303lbs. Still a ways to go to contest weight but that show isn’t for another 13 weeks. I got someone to follow with a drop tire this time as the block is pretty much indestructible but the floor isn’t. The plan had been to do this thing upright like an husafel stone but with my grip not appearing to be the thing holding me back, this style would probably be detrimental to how I do as this would slow me down and shorten my gait. I also think it is too narrow with my long arms to do that. So I figured I’d see if I could repeat what I did with this weight. Started off with staggered grip but switched to the grip I had last run after 50’. At 200’, I figured I could gut out another 200’. It was coming down to how much I wanted to push it at this weight, this far out. Probably another 20’ was there if I went for broke. Legs were tired and so were my forearms. Over 400’. I hope I don’t have to push it this hard at the show so I have the energy for the other events haha. Stretched at the gym before driving home to relax.