March 29, 2020 – Week 2, Day 3

5 Minutes NordicTrack Treadmill

Mobility Prep

Keg Tosses

(over 15’7” target)

29x1

29x1

29x1

29x1

(over 10’7” target)

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

NY Barbell Yoke

220x100’ in 11.46 seconds

320x100’ in 10.61 seconds

420x50’ in 7.75 seconds

520x50’ in 8.37 seconds

520x50’ in 8.38 seconds

520x50’ in 8.29 seconds

Sandbag Rows

110x12

210x31

Medley (Keg Carry/Husafell Carry/Mouser Block/Chain-Sled Drag)

215x30’/239x30’/222x30’/350x30’ in 44.79 seconds

296x30’/239x30’/304x30’/510x30’ in 50.17 seconds

Stretching

Comments: This week has been kind of an odd one. Granted, this situation is a once in 100yrs type deal so what can you really do? I’m thankful I still have income to support myself. But I do miss that structure. Work week has days make sense I guess. Haphazard 2 days on, two days off and then weekends thrown in makes it a bit hard to keep track of days besides looking at a calendar. Anyways, on to training. No walking this whole week. Just weather not great and times not working out. I had every intention of training Saturday but I slept 13hrs. Needed rest. Training takes a bit longer due to setup and trial and error. Realizing that this feeling of inability to make things better besides wait it out is weighing on me too. By the time I was up, it was too late in the day and it was raining off and on. Thunderstorm stopped me from going for a walk. I really needed to do some soft tissue work. I got up somewhat reasonable hour the next day (Sunday). I couldn’t go raring first thing as I had to wait until it stopped raining in the early afternoon. Again, more soft tissue work. Warm-ups felt good. Knees didn’t ache today on this stuff nearly as much but still wearing compression socks and planning on the copper knee sleeves for the real workout. First thing was keg toss. I had a setup at home from years ago when I was training this. It has two heights; 15’7” and 10’7”. It relies on my yoke to support it. Contest height is 12’ but I’d need to elevate the yoke to do that and I had a setup but I figured that this would be wasted effort. And possibly dangerous, especially if done solo. Hard enough to get the thing setup as it is. Going to leave it in the backyard with a tarp over it for now as I’ll be using it weekly for this prep as long as the contest is happening. Set down a rubber stall mat so that I wasn’t on grass. I also wore gloves as I knew that this would get muddy and wet quick with the grass and wet ground. I figured that I’d just try and toss the keg over the top target if I can as I’d definitely be going over the lower target. I never had actually weighed my half keg. I had thought it might be between 27-33lbs. Turns out it is 29lbs. It felt good, easily clearing the top. I’d been hit or miss sometimes on these. I’d say close to 18’. I figure this will be a good warm-up and get some idea of what I can do with the lightest keg in the series (or around that). So the next part was the heavy keg. 10 tosses but this time with EMOM rests so less rest. Felt good. Didn’t feel that tired but I was quite warm after all this. Didn’t get close to clearing the top rung but I think I was close to hitting it at the start. Definitely feel all of these would clear the 12’ height. Except for the ninth toss. I hesitated and the arc was smaller. Still got the height but barely got over the lower rung. So I rushed and did the last toss before time was to go as penance. Next up was yoke. As my Pitbull yoke was being used for the keg toss, I didn’t want to bother with tearing that down and setting back up so I elected to use the NY Barbell one. The Pitbull yoke is already not that sturdy when weight gets added but the NY Barbell makes that one feel solid. Yoke hasn’t been feeling so hot since I came back to it after injury relapse. Just doesn’t feel strong and fast. Last time my knees bothered me so much that I had to put on soft knee braces. Weight was going to be light and the plan is waving the weights and trying to get speed. So I figured that I might as well use my harder yoke for this kind of work while working out at home. Especially since I don’t have any records or numbers on this yoke. I get a baseline and I don’t feel like trash from not matching my previous numbers. My street is slightly slanted so I felt that the best thing to keep consistency was to reset the course each time. A bit of rest and a bit of work. Didn’t really have a good way to film and get the times so I used a PVC pipe. My legs were still sore from zercher squats and lunges. First two runs 100’. Kind of surprised I was faster with more weight but I guess I was warming up. Half the distance for the rest of the runs. I didn’t intend to hit the PVC pipe on that last run before I did the top weight but it gave me an idea on how to track my time. Like when they clack the take board in a film to signify the start and to synch audio for films. So I’d know I crossed the line with the pipe was hit. The start on this is much harder due to the wobble and shake and then I can build up speed. My lower back was feeling so tight today. I was consistent and got my best time of the day on the last set. Definitely attracted a crowd from neighbors out walking or driving with the yoke. Inside my garage for sandbag work. I have 3 sandbags to work with here; 110lbs that is more like a medicine ball with all the duct tape, 210lbs that is leaking sand and is floppy as hell and the 269lbs one. Idea today was to warm-up with plate rows and then max rep set with the 210lbs bag. I elected to just do a set with the 110lbs bag to warm-up and go into it with the 210lbs bag. I figured that I could get like close to 40 reps since I did 24 with 250lbs. But nope. This felt tough. I started at a good clip but I was feeling tired fast. Not even close to my goal before I switched to using my wrists. I think that the week off from training coupled with not doing my higher rep back stuff maybe contributed to this. And not doing really any cardio. I was breathing heavy. Well trying to not breathe in the sand. Managed to rest pause my way over 31 reps. Last thing for the session for today was medley work. This took a bit of setup. Many parts to the medley for the show. The contest is a keg carry, v-8 engine carry and mouser block carry into a chain drag. Everything besides the engine are heavy but all for short distances (30’). The original plan was to setup things and do three sets but this was with access to everything and being able to go super light for a first set. Changed to just doing two sets and only two implements and then a drag. But since I was able to get my stuff, I could do the full run so back to that and two sets of it. My back was really stiff and honestly, I wasn’t so sure how good my fitness would be since I’ve not really done any front carries and only recently started to try and move fast on the yoke and farmer’s walk. I had a light keg and a heavy keg so that made sense there. I used my husafell stone for the engine block and kept it the same weight as it already is slightly heavier than the engine. Mouser Block worked out great as putting in my 25’s for the first set and then all the 10’s with those for the last set matched what weights I wanted almost perfectly. The drag was tricky. The tip I was given to make this like a chain drag was to have the gripping handle be a kettlebell and then have a pair of 25’s along the rope connecting to the sled. I ended up using about 130lbs less than I was planning here as it was a bit tougher than I thought it would be. I used the 45’s instead as they had hand holds to have the rope go through. The first set, I did with my gloves I wore for keg toss. I practiced seeing if I could pick up everything before I went. Barely controlled the drops here as I had crash pads and I had seen how this was judged last year so this was appropriate. I need to get faster. Maybe my knees are sucky or my back was too stiff. Took my time resetting things. Had to switch out stuff, add weights, etc;. Managed to have my father film the last set. Didn’t bother to see if I could pick things up, just had to do it and trust it. No gloves this set as I felt they made it harder to pick up the block and hold on. I kind of knew that this wouldn’t be a great run as I didn’t feel like I’d be able to get the keg up as high as usual for this weight and I was just trying to finish. It will get better. This is a start. Didn’t get the keg up high and just went. Husafell was ok. Mouser block I hesitated as I was worried it would flip and I didn’t have a great grip on it. Drag went ok, just a bit slow to start. I was breathing heavy by the end. I knew I’d need to relax and recover as well as take some ibuprofen as my hands and wrists were sore from the block. Schedule going to probably be off for a little with everything. Exhausting work putting that all away. Survived first week of the home gym.

March 26, 2020 – Week 2, Day 2

5 Minutes NordicTrack Treadmill

Mobility Prep

Deadlifts

45x10

135x5

185x3

225x3

275x3

315x2

365x1

405x1

455x1

Added Straps

495x1

525x1

Yoke Hand and Thigh Lifts (straps, 27” bar height)

180x1

270x1

360x1

450x1

540x1

630x1

720x1

810x1

900x1

Zercher Squats

45x10

95x5

135x5

185x5

225x15

Overhead Walking Lunges

bw+10x10/10

Crunches/Lying Leg Raises/Plank

Bwx30/30/60 seconds

Side Planks

bwx60/60 seconds

Stretching

Comments: It was a bit slow going this time around. I slept in a good bit since off work. Had some more equipment arrive. It wasn’t the stuff I was expecting. A bit stressful having everything come in piecemeal like this. Stuff on time, stuff early and stuff delayed. Right shoulder still sore and achy. Knees achy as hell. Back too. Vertebrae feel like something has been gnawing on them. Same warm-ups as last time. My sound system wasn’t as good for a good deal due to battery power. Not sure how to charge the speakers, if they can be. So today was initially going to be just deadlift, some light squats and abs but since I indicated I could do some of the other stuff at home with what I got, some things were added. I was dreading deadlift. I’ve been dreading it since the last time I did it. I had hoped and extra week of rest would be enough to get my confidence back but nope. Out on the patio for the deadlifts. I will say that the knurling is great on the this bar but it doesn’t roll very good. Not using that as an excuse. Everything felt heavy. My knees were achy so I had my copper sleeves on. Just felt no power. I hated it. Also felt like I couldn’t keep the very base of my lower back tight. Things were feeling at least 40lbs heavier. I was not sure I was going to do anything over 495lbs. Since I had failed to get 5 with 525lbs last time, this was to be a redo. If I had not looked at the video of the 495lbs lift, I would’ve stopped and probably shut down the rest of the workout and go mope. Video seemed to suggest that it went up fast enough that it wasn’t my max for the day. Got my psyche up and tried but it was slow and terrible. Shaking a little to lockout. I thought I could just go from there but no. I was disgusted with my weakness. I know that is harsh and not healthy but I feel deeply wounded when deadlift isn’t cooperating. I can’t be bad at both deadlift and log to go far in strongman these days. I texted Mike after that and said how much deadlifts sucked. I sent a clip later and he stated I was trying to get my hips down too much and squatting it up. Maybe I deteriorated my form from not having it watched a few sessions and just thinking that a little was good as far as getting the hips down so more must be better. Back was feeling tight. Not able to get any sports massages of any kind really. I’ll have to try hips higher next time but I fear that I’ll still have anxiety about two bad deadlifts sessions in a row. A third would just set me off. I shouldn’t be so focused and set on this but it would be a lie if I didn’t indicate how it was making me feel. I had to keep moving forward. I told myself that deadlift isn’t an event at the next contest I have planned. So next was the hand and thigh lift again. No axle yet but I remembered I had my adjustable yoke. Kind of a better setup to be honest as the whole thing comes up and the drop is short and nothing but the implement itself having to support the weight rather than the rack. But I didn’t realize it only went so far down with pins. I was like, damn, what now? I flipped the crossbar and then stood on a wooden board on top of my mbpowercenter throwing keg. That won’t break. With that, I was successful and it was maybe 2” lower than contest height. Better to be safe than sorry. I also put on knee braces to keep my knees from aching. I tried the high thigh position with the first weight but that was just too much unnecessary movement. I could do it with just above the knees and get better tension. I was going up in 90lbs jumps. I was giving myself an ultimatum to do at least 800lbs but aim for 900lbs today. Do this or don’t bother training anymore. This month has been a crapshoot and joy has been a fleeting thing with all the changes. Cherishing those moments. I wanted to feel the power of 900lbs being lifted. This would be the most I’ve picked up in my hands. I’ve had over 1000lbs on my back. I was going to feel very stupid if I missed it. I put on a song from Waitress: The Musical on that I enjoy. Kind of because an outing to see it will probably be cancelled due to the COVID19 and what it makes me feel and think about. It was heavy but I crushed it. 200lbs more doesn’t seem that far off but I know that I need to be smart with building up to it with these partial lifts. I knew my upper back and traps and glutes were going to be really sore after this. This kind of righted the ship for me. Zercher squats next. Been a while. In fact, it has been a while since I’ve done non box squat squats. Plan was light stuff, work up in low rep sets to a top set and do 10-15 reps with plenty in the tank. I’m generally pretty good with these kinds of lifts. No power rack yet so this was off the saw horses. This is fine for now but when weight goes up, it won’t be so easy. I wore the knee braces around my arms so that the bar didn’t dig in so much. 225lbs was still pretty easy but unracking it was a bit tougher and I wanted to keep this easy as the suggested weight had been 185lbs. Only issue was my right calf was not liking these full squats. No issues with any of the other weights. No issues when I stopped. It was a feeling down near the ankle insert. That was it for the barbell work. Outside for a set of walking lunges. It has been awhile. My legs were warm from zerchers so these didn’t bother my knees figured I’d do these up the street so slight incline. Just did 10lbs as this has been many months since I’ve done these and I know my legs will be sore from the full squats on zerchers and lunges. Happy with how these felt and went. Abdominal work I did inside. First thing was triset of crunches, lying leg raises and then a plank. I was only supposed to do like 15-25 reps but I did 30 by mistake on the crunches so I did the same for the lying leg raises. Been a while since I did this stuff too. I think my back needed it. Plank was tough after the prefatigue. I didn’t add any weight for the side planks since I don’t have a 50lbs plate here and I figured that bodyweight was fine for right now with everything going on. Finished up with stretching and eventually iced my knees.

March 24, 2020 – Week 2, Day 1

Well, what a month this has been. I mean, damn. First week of training for the contest in June was going well. Then everything happened. Issues with work, everything being open. Just stuff changing literally every 6hrs. I tried to keep a sense of normalcy and tried to train in Lancaster after work but that was just too much. I think the thought that the contest would be possibly cancelled coupled with all the other stress wore on me and put me in funk for a day or two. The workout was terrible and I only finished up one portion of the workout and went home. In my rush to leave, I may have left my camera there. Shortly after that, all gyms were closed so it was just homegym stuff. I had to take a step back and reignite that spark. So new plan and most of my tax return going to gym equipment. Don’t want to have my pants down like this again. I was able to get a good bit of my equipment to train on. Plan is to return it once this chaos is over but I fear it will be months rather than just weeks. Well now caught up, on to training.

5 Minutes NordicTrack Treadmill

Mobility Prep

Barbell Power Cleans + Strict Presses + Push Presses

45x1+10+5

65x1+3+2

85x1+3+2

105x1+3+2

125x1+3+2

145x1+3+2

165x1+3+2

185x1+3+2

205x1+3+2

Barbell Power Cleans + Strict Presses

225x1+8

Barbell Power Cleans + Push Presses

225x1+14

Rack Chins (straps)

bwx15

bwx13

bwx11

High Incline Dumbbell Presses

15’sx10

40’sx10

70’sx27

Weighted Push-ups

bwx10

bw+25x8

bw+45x28

Standing Tate Presses

15’sx20

40’sx32

Stretching

Comments: So first training in the garage. Body stiff and achy. I didn’t really do much other than the aborted workout and finally got myself to go for a walk Saturday and Sunday. For warm-ups, had to improvise a little. I needed to do some foam rolling to get ready. Oof. Didn’t want to be doing the usual sled drag around the block so used the treadmill that I’ve been storing in one of my guestrooms. I will say a nice thing about training like this is I can play my music. Used stuff around my house to do the rest of the mobility stuff warm-ups. So first thing was pressing. The ceiling is way too low for me to press stuff standing and I’d rather not be in the street. So that was happening on my patio. Barbell stuff. No power rack setup yet so had to clean the weight. Not very good at this and it was set to limit things by having it be power clean to the shoulders. My best ever on this is 275lbs but I don’t do this. I knew this was going to be tricky. I didn’t have anything to soften the drops so I had to control this weight back down. So as has been the case, combo of strict press and push presses. Started off good. Ran into some trouble with plates though. I apparently got like 900lbs of 45’s that don’t fit on the barbell I got. Luckily I got 4 pairs of 45’s that do fit and some other plates so all good. Once I got to that point, I was adding support gear. My right knee was just killing me at the start. I ended up putting on my compression socks and my calf warmer around my knee to help. My knee felt better as I went. I had a goal of my top set being 225lbs. It just seemed right. The limiting factor was going to be the power clean. For the top set, it was going to be two sets. First set max strict press reps and second set mas push press reps. With how difficult that first rep of strict press was, I’m surprised I got more than three. Not sure where that came from. Power clean was a bit tougher for the second set, even though I took a good bit of rest. Triceps just couldn’t lockout a 15^th rep. Shoulders were pumped and sore. Right shoulder feeling a bit like when my biceps tendonitis was acting up during Arnold prep. Going to have to watch that. I think the hard catch at the top for the power clean as well as the pulling might have something to do with it. The rest of the workout took place in my garage. Next exercise was one I did when I was first coming back to training from injury. Rack chins. However, I don’t have a rack and my closest setup is a yoke and due to the thicker crossbar, I was advised to use straps. I probably would’ve used straps anyways with how my biceps and forearms were feeling from the controlled negatives on the power cleans. Advised not to go all out but leave like two in the tank each set. Even when things are back to normal, these might be a good one for me to do in place of pulldowns for a change up and to work things a bit differently. One is moving the weight and this is moving the body. I’m sure I’ll get better at these. So next was more shoulder and chest work. At this moment, I’m limited on dumbbells. I have two sets of dumbbells, 40’s and 70’s. I do have a pair of 15’s but they are plastic kettlebells. They are a bit different feel but whatever. So this was high incline dumbbell presses. Do sets of ten with my lighter stuff and then a max rep set with the 70’s. My shoulders and triceps were feeling crispy and like I said, the right shoulder was feeling sore and tight. It was a little difficult to get the 70lbs up to the shoulders and set but once I did, I went to work. I figured I’d get above 20 reps considering how my reps I’ve done with lighter dumbbells on standing tate presses. But my shoulders were feeling beat and tired. Still got over 20 and aimed for 30 but just fell short. Now usually, there is a rest before doing another pressing exercise with back work. But not today. So right into weighted push-ups. My triceps were just done. Thankfully, this didn’t irritate the biceps tendon after all the reps beforehand. As I have been doing with the weighted dips, I really rest paused these. Keep the set going. I was telling myself that I couldn’t do less than 25 reps here. I did try for 30 but got stopped on number 29. Last thing was standing tate presses. I did the first set seated as I didn’t want to go outside again. The kettlebells just about cooked my shoulders. I’m not sure why but I think how the weight sits was why but I felt so much lactic acid in my delts I couldn’t really hold my arms up. Lots of reps, jokingly considering I might have Rhabdomyolysis. While resting, I released that the ceiling in the garage was slightly higher where the pulldown stairs to the attic are so I shifted under there to do the set with the 40’s. Everything was sore but I got over 30 reps here. Exhausting but done. Had Mississippi roast before stretching out watching “Tiger King” on Netflix. As long as I can keep from breaking, I can make this work.

March 14, 2020 – Week 1, Day 3

5 Minutes NordicTrack

Mobility Prep

Keg Tosses (over 12’ target)

23x1

23x1

23x1

23x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

54x1

I-Beam Farmer’s Walk (18” pick)

(turns at 50’)

117x100’ in 14.14 seconds (to the left)

117x100’ in 13.17 seconds (to the right)

(turns at 25’)

207x50’ in 11.08 seconds (to the left)

207x50’ in 10.61 seconds (to the right)

(straight shot)

257x50’ in 7.68 seconds

257x50’ in 7.78 seconds

Stone of Steel Loads (54”)

138x5

218x3

261.5x10

Yoke Pushes (turf)

210x50’/50’

210x50’/50’

210x50’/50’

210x50’/50’

210x50’/50’

Stretching

Comments: Had a bit of a scare. Woke up Friday with a fever and I was hoping it was just from me eating a lot late and staying up as I tend to run hot. Actually not sure if a fever but I was feeling very warm and putting on clothes made me feel sweaty. I needed my AC on max going to work and put on desk fan when I got there. But I couldn’t cool down when I got to work and called off a half hour in. Couldn’t risk it. Since I didn’t have any of the other symptoms for COVID-19, I was advised to just stay home. My information was sent to my primary care physician but I was told that they wouldn’t administer a test since I was considered “low risk”. I got home and took some clothes off and took Dayquil and ibuprofen and my fever broke in a few hours. We live in strange times. So this pretty much made Friday a bust of a day. I did finally get a chance to do recovery work. My upper back was incredibly sore to the touch from the rdls and the hand and thigh lifts.  I felt better-ish the next day. Took meds and brought extra water, towels and hand sanitizer. Not sure how the day would go but I had things to do. No walking this whole week. I was surprised to see that the plan was including event specific thing so soon. Warm-ups felt good. Knees didn’t ache today on this stuff. First thing was keg toss. I remembered the setup I had made when the throwing wall fell down so I tried to replicate it. Even knowing up to do for setup it was a pain but I got it together. Ate up a good bit of time. Now this week was to be just 10 tosses with no set rest. Didn’t need a target but I like having one so that I know it is going over. Just tossing into the sky gives me a false sense of things. Got several empty kegs but only 2 that are pony keg sized. Several half kegs and one that is like the same height as the half keg but half the width. I figured that 23lbs would be easy enough. That thing was damn noisy. Actually had someone from the kitchen of the pho restaurant check to see what all the clanging was. Been trying to work on the technique in my head and watching videos of people that have improved. Empty keg is no problem; it is when weight is added. I did the first two with my usual shoes I wear for event work and then switched them to my oly shoes to see if that changed things. I had two camera’s going to get different angles on different parts and had my friend Mike observe. After two of each, I brought out my plate loadable throwing keg. 54lbs empty. I wasn’t sure I’d clear this and I was testing more to see what I was getting myself into since I have no in-between weight. I was overthinking it a bit but gave it a toss and it cleared. I was kind of shocked. Granted this was only 12’ but I wasn’t expecting a resounding success since no tossing work in almost a year. Actually felt ok so I did another. Surely that one wouldn’t clear but it did. I was thinking, ok, I guess I can use this for all the sets then. Got all the tosses with no misses. I was favoring the one hand by the end. This power keg mini is a beast as it didn’t suffer anything other than superficial damage to the powder coating. The same could not be said for the blacktop and I will have to figure out something for that next time. Farmer’s walk was next. Working on speed and not worrying about picks and what not. Working on that separately so this was higher handles and my normal speed and hand placement. Granted I needed to use a little more weight than planned as the 18” I-beams are heavier than 113lbs empty. So added 4lbs to everything. Right knee was a little sore but feeling okay. First few runs continuing to work the turns. I’m apparently faster making a right turn than a left turn it would seem. Wouldn’t think that from how they feel. Empty I wasn’t moving as fast as my best I think. These handles felt a good deal more comfortable than what I’ve been using but it might just be the pick height and how I’m holding things. Added a plate and cut the distance in half. Still feels a bit but I moved well. I overshot the first run by 5’ as I forgot that I moved it up 5’ so I could make out the finish line to get my time (I couldn’t rely on someone to time every set since I was running late). These may be speed PRs for me with this kind of setup (distance and weight) but again, still working up. I was able to make some tight turns here. Last two sets were 50’ straight shots. Trying to go fast and try and best faster each time. Pick felt slow and I didn’t feel like I was able to go into my top gear on either run. I got my timing for the start with the commands perfect the first set and was maybe a hair behind the second set. Grip felt good but my hamstrings were feeling smoked from having to move fast. I was consistent and a little over half a second slower than my best. Not that far off really so not bad after all the slow moving stuff.  Stone of steel was next. This hasn’t been a confidence builder lately with how rough this has felt. But again, I’ve previously only done singles except for a top set and when I was doing them for reps, I had assistance in the form of a grip shirt and/or receiver gloves and occasionally with tacky towel. Makes the picking up much easier and less concern of getting it centered. Not so much with it nude. Also doesn’t help that it is dented from that drop last year. It tends to tilt to one side I think. And I get paranoid the hemispheres aren’t fully sealed down as I’ve had them spin in the past when I didn’t. So I might not have the weights inside as secured. Anyways, on to it. The foam pad has essentially been destroyed at this point so it lets things go to the one side. First set was to be the empty implement. No problems here. Next set was to be about 200lbs. I overshot it but didn’t feel like taking the weight out so I did a triple. The next set was to be about 260lbs for a set of 10. I knew this was going to be another long set like last time. Assuming I had no issues picking it up. This became a time vampire as my first loading of it came out 9lbs light. Finally got it right and went. I had put on the soft belts as I figured not time to be worrying about that. This was decent weight now. Thankfully my knees weren’t aching like they were when I was warming up. I started breathing heavy after five. Half way there. Then the pacing got shot to hell as every time I did a load, the thing would roll off the side and I’d have to readjust the yoke and roll it back to the other side like a dung beetle before I’d go again. So this was making it like a 35 seconds rest. Very frustrating. I did manage to not have that happen on the ninth one and be able to do the last one right after that. The back and chest work is doing good things here. Last thing was sled work. The idea being to do either less weight or the same weight as last time and try and go faster. Seeing as how I already had the heavy duty yoke out on the turf from using it to toss the kegs over, I figured I’d use it instead. I wouldn’t have to race the turn it around like with the sleds. I moved pretty good that first set. Not so much the subsequent sets. Felt like I was not recovering. I was counting like last time but I guess I was counting fast as my rests ended up being about 45 seconds instead of a minute. Oh well, I finished. Did some reverse hypers and bar hangs before heading home. The reverse hypers felt different today, like my lower back was really tense but I didn’t feel in pain. Just a tight stretch and not a deloading feeling. Drove home and stretched and then ate. Not an ideal week but a good one training wise. But I fear things are going to get crazier before they get better.

March 12, 2020 – Week 1, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

Mobility Prep

Hatfield Squats to box (18”)

60x10

150x5

240x5

290x3

330x3

380x3

420x3

470x3

510x5

Romanian Deadlifts (top start)

45x10

135x5

225x3

315x3

405x3

Added Straps

435x11

Axle Hand and Thigh Lifts (straps, 32” bar height)

162x1

252x1

342x1

432x1

522x1

612x1

702x1

777x1

Pulldown Abs (pulldown station)

70x25

100x25

130x25

Side Planks

bw+50x60/60 seconds

Stretching

Comments: I was hoping what I was feeling was delayed onset physical manifestations of stress. I sometimes have stuff while stressed and sometimes stuff happens after a stressful situation ends or resolves. But after training, it became more apparent that it might be sickness too. I had been lax in the recovery aspect of things such as soft tissue work. The gym is not closed at this time which is good but who knows how long that will last with the current situation as it stands. Warm-ups felt mostly good but I had to modify them quite a bit as equipment was being used. Hatfield squats again. Same as last time in that work up in triples to the top set of five. 10lbs more this time. Well I guess kind of the same but not. I had taken my workout sheet out of my bag two days earlier and so I was having to go off my phone and the battery was very low. I felt good working up. Advised I should do the second plate jump for a set of five since I was going for the triples so soon. The top weight would mean I could do plate, quarter, plate jumps. Sweating quite a bit. Not sure if just the ventilation being not the best downstairs or if I was just warm. Trying to do these without the copper knee sleeves. I almost messed up near the end. I had thought I did 470lbs already and was going to add another plate. I still messed up in doing a triple instead of just a single to warm up. The weight is feeling substantial on my upper body. Didn’t feel as powerful as 500lbs felt last time but still very manageable. Romanian deadlifts next. This was adjusted a good bit. I wasn’t looking forward to it with how deadlifts went last week. The big change here was essentially doing plate jumps in weight. Definitely cut down on the fatigue but got me a little out of sorts with the warm-up. Last set before the work set with 10lbs more than last time was 405lbs for a triple. I’ve been trying to do all but the top set as no straps. I’m going to have to rethink that. I got a double before I had to rush and rerack. Took a moment to regroup and get another rep and rerack. Top set didn’t feel terrible but it was difficult. I’m fairly certain I got 11 reps here. I know it was at least 10 reps. Darn no filming rule. I went for 12 to try and match last time but not happening and it ended up being a controlled negative to the floor instead. New exercise up next. There are two deadlift events at the upcoming show. One is a car deadlift hold with side handles and straps and the other is a max 2-4” ROM deadlift with an axle. The latter is what I was doing today. This is a bit unorthodox. This was an event at the competition last year and the winning weight was north of 1200lbs. SCL keeps a record for this at 600kgs (1,323lbs) so a bit of weight can be moved here. So this was to be a testing day. Not for a max but to get the form figured out and see how it feels. I don’t tend to do well when it comes to perceived effort as I tend to go to hard. It’s a character flaw but it is difficult to abstain. In my mind, the moderate weight that was to be easy was to be 80% of 90% of what I hoped to pull at the comp. 500kgs/1102lbs would be a number I’d not lose many points with so 72% of that was around 792lbs. But I’d still go by feel. Lower back and hamstrings were a bit pumped. I used the lowest setting of the tiered squat rack as I felt that could hold up to more punishment than the other one that is rated for just 300kgs/661lbs. I was advised by the promoter after this session that I may have the bar height too high so I’ll lower it 3” to insure I’m there. Not sure what will be the best but I feel that trying to emulate Jón Páll Sigmarsson style of high elevated pull by getting my thighs under the bar and kind of leg press the damn thing up. Felt like nothing until around 400lbs. Adding bits of kit as I went. I had a thought of lowering it under control like a normal deadlift back to the start position but the ROM is so short that it did nothing. I knew I’d need to get used to this as the weights moved are a lot and it would definitely be a strain on the upper back. 702lbs didn’t come up even so I didn’t go for 792lbs as I had planned. Not a lot of ROM but there is a fair bit of strain still. I may need to use the copper knee sleeves and the soft knee braces to put the most into this and feel comfortable and not wreck my knees for the other events.  Pulldown abs next. Hands were gone and I had to end up gripping this oddly to get through the last two sets. Same weights as last time but more reps. Spine didn’t feel like it needed a deload despite my best efforts with the heavy squats and pulls haha. Side planks afterwards. My foot cramped on the first set and I didn’t want to start over so I just toughed through it until the cramp subsided. First set seemed easier on the core than usual. The other side did not. But still felt good. Home to stretch and recover with food and ice. Hopefully this is nothing major as far as illness.

March 10, 2020 – Week 1, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

Mobility Prep

Axle Cleans + Strict Presses + Push Presses

PVC

22x1+10+5

Axle

72x1+5+3

97x1+2+1

117x1+2+1

137x1+2+1

157x1+2+1

177x1+2+1

Axle Strict Presses + Push Presses

197x2+1

217x2+1

237x2+1

Axle Strict Presses

257x2

Axle Push Presses

257x1

267x8

Pulldowns

70x10

110x10

150x5

190x5

230x5

270x21

Precor Pec Flyes

110x10

150x10

190x5

230x5

270x22

Cybex Eagle NX Rows

150x10

200x8

250x5

300x22 PR+5 reps

Safety Squat Bar JM Presses

60x10

90x10

120x10

150x10

165x23

Stretching

Comments: Did not end the previous cycle on a high note haha. Lot of stress going on and I ended up getting sick. At least I think I was sick. Just exhausted and all my joints hurt. Not as bad as when I had the flu but still painful. None of the other symptoms. Still erred on the side of caution and imposed self-isolation to not risk getting anyone sick (like my grandmother and infant niece). So no last workout of that cycle. Felt like I had to sweat out that week of bad emotions before I could move on with this week. Contest specific prep now. Feeling tired and achy so not a great feeling starting out haha. I was warm all day. I can take the weather when it is consistent but not when it goes up 40 degrees over the day. I wanted to just shave all my hair off I was that uncomfortably warm. Warm ups felt ok. Axle to start things off. The big change here was working in the cleans. One clean and then the required strict and push presses. I am super rusty. It didn’t help that someone at the Y was using all the bumper plates for squats. I’d either have to delay my workout by like 20 minutes or just do what I can with what I had. So not the best circumstances to work the continental with the axle. Didn’t help that my knees were really achy on the catch at the top. I was definitely not dipping under like I should. Maybe just used to staying rigid for strict pressed and push presses to protect my back? It was going to be a pain having to swap the plates so I just kept it at the 10’s until I had enough weight to actually use plates. The overhead stuff was easy. But man I got to work on my continental again. In the past, I think I’ve just been eager to rush and just pop it off the shoulders, rather than work the shoulders. Hopefully I’ll be able to train each one from regular height next time. So after working up to the top weight for the cleans, put the weight in the power rack for the rest of it. Not much of a change but shoulders feel stiffer and not as ready to go without a clean first to prime. I also had to wait for Mr. I’m Using ALL The Bumper Plates To Squat to finish so I cooled off a little bit. I shouldn’t have felt some satisfication seeing him get stapled twice during his squat session but I was in need of letting off some stress. I was feeling like I was going through the motions and thinking that I wasn’t ready to get back to this. I don’t think I really got awake until the top set of the strict presses. Little bit of cracking in the back as a bit of movement getting under the weight and getting it overhead. Looking back at my records, this is the most I’ve done “reps” with on axle strict. Still 20lbs under my best single. Another difference was the next set. Just a single. See, the true push press top set would be another 10lbs on top of that weight. Got a bit amped for this one I think. Not wanting to fail. Power felt good. Had to catch my balance at the top a few times. My lockout power is good so I could push through. Ended up having to adjust a few times and got a solid eight reps. More back cracking from this. No pain though. I was keeping an eye on that since this was kind of what aggravated it when I was doing the viking presses. Knees didn’t ache as much as they did after the log press set last week. I thought I did well but the projected max went down again. Not sure how but not worrying about. I feel good with what I got. One rep more than what I got with 265lbs when I was doing jerks. This is still working so still building. The usual accessory work for high reps followed. Didn’t have to wait on the pulldowns. 5lbs more this time again. My upper back felt like such crap the past feel days. My forearms were feeling sore from the cleans (I think more from having to control the weight down using the metal plates on the platform which is a no-no). These felt pretty darn heavy and exhausting again. Been having some upper ab cramps so could feel that as I pulled. My left hamstring didn’t cramp up this time. It was a struggle but I got over 20 reps here again. Upstairs after that. As it usually does, I had to let things take a break as the pec flye is always popular. I notice that the air flow was better upstairs. I could breathe. Downstairs, it was stagnant and smelled like gym bag. Only going up 5lbs here but that worked great as that meant I could just put a 25lbs plate on it for the top set. Felt easy working up but that darn friction is noticeable on the top set. I got stopped at 22 reps. I tried to restart but it wasn’t budging again safely. Rows next. No wait thankfully. Big jumps in weight. Essentially maxing out the machine now on the top set. I can safely add 5lbs more. Not like the other machines so plan is to just keep pushing the reps with this weight. Have this be the reppage exercise and other row be the one I keep pushing the weight on. For some reason, the reps dropped off a lot last time I worked up to this weight. Still a decent drop off but not as much this time. Still got above 20 reps which was the goal here. But now I set a high mark to beat for next time haha. Last item of the day was the ssb jms. Set weights this time for the work up sets. Idea being higher reps to fatigue with higher weights and then try to get a lot of reps at the top weight. Played out that way. I really wanted to match the reps but it wasn’t happening haha. Arms were shaking to lockout that last rep. Would’ve needed a spotter to get another I think. Arms felt pumped to hell after that. Started out feeling like crap and felt like a swoledier afterwards haha. I had way too many dirty dishes so got burrito bowls to supplement my leftovers.

March 5, 2020 – Week 14, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

Mobility Prep

Deadlifts

45x10

135x5

185x3

225x3

275x3

315x2

365x1

405x1

455x1

Added Straps

495x1

525x3

Precor Angled Leg Presses w/lb’s doubled (+219lbs)

136x10

226x10

316x10

406x10

496x10

586x10

676x15

Hanging Knee Raises

bwx46

bwx46

Side Planks

bw+50x60/60 seconds

Stretching

Comments: This was not a good day. I didn’t die but it wasn’t great. Lot of stress. I’ve been anxious about lower body workouts. Deadlifts feeling heavy and not moving event sessions twice. There is a fear in missing weights or underperforming on things that I tend to tie to my self-worth. Maybe committing to a show has now added to that?  I thought I was getting better at not letting it be a thing. My entire upper back just ached. I felt tired. Like I had flu but none of the other stuff that goes with it. It didn’t hit me until I was already at work for a bit. I got things so I could go to the gym right after work. I told myself if foam rolling at the gym didn’t make things feel somewhat better, I was going to train the next day. Literally felt like I had bubble wrap in my spine with how much things were aching and popping while rolling out. I felt a tad drained. I was hoping it wasn’t illness. Warm-ups felt ok, no really issues there. Deadlift to start again. Plan again being to work up to a top set of 1-5 reps depending on how the weight felt. Pretty much written as do it for five reps. 10lbs more than last time. Knees were achy with the bar. The bars with good knurling were in use but I figured it didn’t matter as I’d be using straps for th top set anyways. Stuff felt heavy and grip was feeling things. I’d have liked to go for 495lbs with DOH but my grip was not going to hold up on that and I didn’t need a missed lift to mess with my head. That rep felt really hard. Like, how the hell is 525lbs going to budge? I did notice on that pull with the straps that I had my hands in a bit more than usual. The markings on the bar were in more than the bar I usually use so I widened my grip slightly. I got set and pulled. Got a rep and that was tough. No idea how I got a second rep, let alone a third rep. Got the leg shake going on that third one. No hitching but I was done. Didn’t bother for a fourth rep. A triple was the bare minimum I was willing to accept from myself without going into a full on spiral of shame meltdown.  I got to not be like that and set ultimatums. It’s my body, not a machine. I was kind of a zombie after that, just doing the leg pressing to keep some focus. Plan was same as last time as far as weights and jumps but to do 12-15 reps with the top weight. This was a lot rougher than last time. Kept checking to make sure I wasn’t doing 90lbs more than I was with how it was feeling. I was definitely thinking about calling it a day. Getting upper ab cramps on the last two sets. Ended up putting on the copper knee sleeves for the last set. Abs after that. Hanging knee raises I wasn’t sure what to expect, so aimed for just an extra rep each set. This was easy enough the first set. Second set was a bit tougher but more that my grip was tired. Felt good on my back after the deadlifts. Side planks are getting better with this weight. Only issue was my feet were sliding on the second set. Got ton early enough and did taco stuff for dinner and then stretched and did recovery stuff. I felt like achy crap going to be and had a very strong feeling I was going to be calling in sick the next day.

March 3, 2020 – Week 14, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

Mobility Prep

12” Log Strict Presses + Push Presses
Dumbbells
25’sx10+5
35’sx5+5
Log
105x3+2
130x3+2
155x3+2
180x2+1
205x2+1
230x2+1

12” Log Strict Presses
255x2

12” Log Push Presses
255x9

Neutral Grip Pulldowns
70x10
100x10
130x5
160x5
190x5
230x5
260x14 PR+5lbs & 2 reps

Slingshot Dips
bwx10
bw+50x5
bw+100x5
bw+150x16 PR+5lbs

Neutral Grip Precor Chest Supported Rows
90x5
140x5
190x5
240x5
290x5
340x21 PR+10lbs

Standing Tate Presses
10’sx10
20’sx8
30’sx8
40’sx8
50’sx8
60’sx21

Stretching

Comments: Not sure how things would go today. Feeling lower back soreness (not bad soreness) in my lower and upper back. Still miffed about the farmer’s walk stuff. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. I understand but still there is a competition in myself. Got distracted the day before and didn’t walk. Waited too late and it started raining. Calves are usually sore after sled push work but not feeling too bad today. I figured I’d have to do some foam rolling when I got to the gym. I had my self together before work so I could go right to the gym after work. Warmed up ok. Log for this session again. The usual drill of warming up with dumbbells then log and doing the strict and push press combos. The racks were both in use and I just had to wait for one to open up. It ended up being the big power rack that doesn’t quite adjust right for me. I lowered the pick up height one level and that actually seemed to be good. I still have to walk out the weight though so that I don’t hit the pullup handles and/or bang the front of the rack hooks. My left arm felt fatigued in the triceps at the start. Actually both arms kind of did and around the elbow joint. So not promising haha. Shoulders and upper back were feeling pumped from just doing the light stuff. Misloaded 230lbs by 10lbs on one side and I put it down as soon as it felt wobbly and then did it no problem. For the top weight, plan was to do 1-2 reps strict and then push press after a rest. I added copper knee sleeves and wrist wraps for that weight. Like last time I feel like I maybe had 5 reps there if I went all out and form out the window and no caring for my well being. . Anxious for the push presses. Lockout strong, even if leg drive gets out in front of me sometimes. Walking out the weight is a little challenging but didn’t seem to affect things. Very happy to get nine reps here. Neutral grip pulldowns after that. Another 5lbs added to the top weight this time. As expected, I did better this time around. Got more reps and felt less worn from stone of steel, even though I did double the reps on that. I stopped earlier because my left hamstring kept on cramping on me and I lost tightness and I figured it was foolish to keep pushing it. Next was slingshot dips. Easy work up sets. I did have to search a bit to find the setup for the belt again. Top set was a tough one. I literally did a single rep and had to stop as I felt lightheaded. It’s strange having pressure from a weight pulling down. Still feeling strong on these but it seems that my best bet is to kind of rest pause these to prevent the swaying and having my breathing disrupted. Kind of like when I do the higher rep sets of loading implements. I know it is a lot of weight I’m moving as I get petechiae around the shoulders. Last two reps that lockout on the right arm wasn’t as solid but still good work. Chest supported rows followed that. Advised to start light, do 50lbs jumps of five reps but doing 10lbs more here. I felt pretty damn strong on these today. Right biceps was feeling a bit tight but I was cautious. Again, out of the gate strong but the weight just seemed to make it difficult to keep going continuously so it was pausing on some reps to finish out. Getting that last one was a struggle. Final thing for the session was standing tate presses. Same as last time but 5lbs more again. This was going to be tough. I did more sets to work up since I was doing heavier weight. Short rests and then a breather for that top set. Oof this was hard. Still got over 20 reps. Finished up and left the gym. It was like a typhoon out there with horizontal rain. Home to stretch, eat and recover.

March 1, 2020 – Week 13, Day 3

5 Minutes NordicTrack

Mobility Prep

Farmer’s Walk (16” pick, increasing pace)

Titan Fitness

(turns at 50’)

125x100’ (to the left)

125x100’ (to the right)

(turns at 25’)

215x50’ (to the left)

215x50’ (to the right)

Rogue Fitness

(straight shot)

273x50’

328x0,0 (no pick)

Stone of Steel Loads (54”)

138x5

192x3

244x10

Prowler Pushes (turf)

245x50’/50’

245x50’/50’

245x50’/50’

245x50’/50’

245x50’/50’

Stretching

Comments: I was feeling better then I did last event training session. Back wasn’t hating me. I did some light foam rolling before driving out to train. Didn’t feel like this was going to be too bad after how last time went. No one was there when I got out to train. Warmed up and got ready for training. Starting things off with the farmer’s walk. First few sets being the one’s with turns. I figured that even though the event stuff was put away from the contest, I’d do what I was doing before for consistency sake and to finish things out. 10lbs more per handle on the turn runs. Felt heavier than I would’ve liked on that first set. Second set was a bit better moving wise but not so great with the turn. Doing shorter rests with these turns. Again, the 90lbs jump was noticeable. Like real stupid heavy feeling. I knew by this point that my upper back was really fatigued from the rdls, as well as my hips. Again, better on my left turn versus my right turn. That was really sucky. I was kind of hoping that it was just not being awake as I had heavier things to come. Last time, it was a very casual run with 263lbs. This was not a casual run with 273lbs. The pick took longer and I could feel my grip wanting to go. Grip lags when my upper back is fatigued but chalk can help. I didn’t think that 5lbs more on last time for the top set was out of the realm of possibility. Took a bit of hyping and went for it and I thought it was going as it was slow like last time. But I couldn’t get past the sticking point. I stood up and started sweating a lot and seeing little black spots in my vision. I took about 2 minutes to give another shot to make sure it was good and stuck. It was. I was tempted for a third and go with my usual back of the handle style but I said no as I already wasted a lot of effort with two tries before and these handles don’t hold stuff well unless I have the wrench tightened collars (which I did not). The goal was to work the weak point but it may be not so good an idea with working the heavy deadlifts. This marks two weeks in a row with moving events not feeling so hot. Sounds like I should let the gym work (deadlifts, squats, leg press, rdls) do their thing and go with what works best on the event work perhaps (higher pick, back of handles)? Going lighter for another run was just going to make me angry. Moving on to the next thing. I was seriously thinking of calling it a day and going home. Stuff was fatigued. It wasn’t that I wasn’t strong enough, just couldn’t show it right now. Other stuff was lighter and could be worked. Stone of steel after that. Loading the thing over a bar but more reps on the top set. Feels odd doing reps to be honest. It has been mostly singles since 2017 SC Nats prep. And I don’t think I really did much for reps without some type of grip assistance. So kind of new/different. I don’t remember the balance being all wonky on this thing. Perhaps that was because I didn’t have it fall from 5’ before. It was feeling hefty. My head wasn’t really in it still. Just told myself to do what I can. If this goes poorly, I can at least do conditioning work and regroup next week in some way. The training isn’t written in stone and I’ve come to accept that and get better and letting it go. I will say my ankle extension is getting better and I’m not hyperextending my back nearly as much. I got a bad pick on the stone going for number three on the set of ten and that kind of slowed things down a bit. I also think that because I have to control this back down so that I can do another rep and the bar height is lower is why extension isn’t as aggressive maybe? Not that that isn’t a good thing for now. I started taking big breathes between reps after five and it took two more reps before I got over being cautious and just went a decent pace that if I wasn’t hesitating, I’d have done the whole time. This is about 80% of what I’ve done with tacky towel, gloves and grip shirt for the same reps so doing ok. It’s getting the work in. Didn’t feel like this bothered my biceps at all. Last thing for the day was prowler pushes. Only went up 5lbs again. Just doing the work. Nose to the grindstone. Two prowlers again to make things work. Set one took about 36 seconds and the fifth set took about 56 seconds so definitely a slow down over the sets. But again, didn’t feel so bad. Never felt like I wasn’t going to finish the sets. I figured out I was counting too slow last week (doing “1 Mississippi” instead of just “1”) so that got the rests periods about right. A little short at the beginning but just right by the end as I got tired. I knew I was going to need to rest after this workout with how I was feeling. Did some reverse hypers and bar hangs before heading home. Stretched and ate.