March 30, 2021 – Week 3, Day 2

Mobility Prep
 
14” Jack Stand Pulls
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
Added Straps
455x1
501x2
501x2
501x2
501x9

Paused Romanian Deadlifts (3 seconds mid-shin, beltless)
145x3
235x3
Added Straps
325x8
325x8
325x8

Lateral Step Downs (15.5”)/ Copenhagen Planks (ver 1)
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds

Seated Band Hamstring Curls/Single Leg Calf Raises (0-3-0-3 tempo)
(2)mb’sX20/bwx10/10
(2)mb’sX20/bwx10/10

Stretching
 
Comments: I wasn’t feeling like this was going to be a good day. I had to start taking allergy stuff again. I was still miffed about push pressing from the day before. Worried (irrationally I hoped) that things were going to not work out and I’d be still the same. Knees were really achy. Kind of worried that my back would just up and seize up on me from all the new work. Trying to not think like that or about that. I haven’t had to do any traction on my back in weeks now. It does seem quite apparent that there were some deficiencies in previous training with how sore I’m getting on some exercises that are light even. But in just these past two weeks, I’m feeling some muscles and areas getting work that rarely did or not in that way or never at all and others where I’m feeling more solid in spots. Not that I’ve grown or gotten thicker but that stuff feels tight and strong. And that’s a good thing. Right into the movement prep. Oof, ATG split squats did not want to happen today again. Not soreness this time but just the knees not liking it on stretched out back leg. I stopped and took the car buffer to my knees to get them warm and blood flow. Seemed to help a little but still was a rough start to the workout. Knee ache (especially the right one) carried on through the warm-ups, though it seemed to feel better by the second round at least. Stuff was feeling like work. Second run through of this stuff usually does feel a lot better. Then into the garage to lift some weights. I had setup stuff during my lunch break to try and get stuff moving along as per usual. There was a bit of break between the warm-ups and lifting as I applied athletic tape to my shins to keep the scabs from reopening. Going to probably have to do that for a few weeks and probably not a bad idea to do if I got keg stuff again. Another day of block pulls from 14”. My father had leftover wood from making an elevated garden plot so he made me a more stable platform so I didn’t have to worry about boards sliding under my feet. So for today, the plan was doing 3x2 and then a max rep set leaving 1-2 reps in the tanks. Pretty much using 500lbs. Getting used to setting my lats on pulls and it does feel easier to do this with these kind of straps vs figure 8’s. Things were feeling heavy. My working weight wasn’t feeling so nice. I figured kind of expected considering the effort I put into the keg loads and the farmer’s picks that this might take a hit. I was not feeling keen that I’d get more than 5 reps really with keeping them clean. I got really anxious before the last set. It’s part of that urgency. Sometimes it works out great for me, other times not so much. This was feeling like a not so much as I was feeling like I was going to spew all of the stuff I drank. But I finally got it to calm down and get ready to go. Felt like nothing compared to the other sets. Just kept going, rep after rep. Told myself not to get greedy and stopped when I felt it slow down enough that it wasn’t a straight crisp pull. It was very tempting to go for 10 reps. I know I had 2 more there. Maybe even 3. This was very surprising to me. Deadlift has been feeling like shit ever since I pulled 585lbs for a single in early December last year. I had secretly hoped that I’d pull 8 or more reps as that had been how many reps I had pulled with 500lbs back in 2012. Another thing was in 2019 prepping for (yet another failed attempt) USS Nationals was about this weight for 8 reps with a thick bar and wearing a suit. But again, trying to be happy but not get bold because I’ve seen what happens when I’m feeling confident. So on to the pause rdls. As seems to be the case, more weight. Plan to be 10lbs more than my top set last week for 3x8. I took big jumps for little warm-up to get ready. I’m getting pretty good at these. I took a bit longer with my rests, not just because these end up being long sets but I have to brace for a long time and I need to make sure that I’m recovered so that I don’t let something slip. Then on to the other stuff. As with last time, pairing of single legs and the weird planks. I had been told not to worry about raising the platform height any more but I did because the setup I had that was more stable was going to be 1.5” higher than last time. I'’ getting better at these. Only had the one rep where I slightly lost my balance on the very first set. Most of the hesitancy was that first rep each side and just dealing with the discomfort in the right knee. Planks are still planks. The jump to the next version seems like a bit one at the moment. So the last item of the session being the band leg curls (nothing to really say there) and the tempo calf raises. I was dreading those a little considering how freaking hard they were. But color me surprised that I got through both sets without needing my other leg to assist on any of the reps. I was expecting improvement but not that much. Ate another big dinner and stretched and then iced my knees before bed. Looking forward to a day of rest.

March 29, 2021 – Week 3, Day 1

Mobility Prep
 
Axle Push Presses
Pause 1st rep 2 seconds
32x2
62x2
92x2
122x2
152x2
182x2
No Pauses
212x2
242x2
272x2
272x2
272x2

Paused Axle Push Presses (2 seconds, beltless)
224x3
224x3
224x3

Chest Supported Barbell Rows (2 seconds hold, straps)
135x3
195x3
222x6
197x8
197x8
197x8

Ring Push-ups (3 seconds negatives, feet on ground)
bwx15
bwx12
bwx12

Underhand Band Pullaparts/Band Y Raises/ Band Triceps Pressdowns
mbx10/µbx10/lbx25
mbx10/µbx10/lbx25

Stretching
 
Comments: Another week down and still standing. Though as it seems to be the case, I get confident and get a little smack down to stay humble. Sleep was a little off the day after training but I figured that I made up for it with going to be early Sunday. I was looking forward to training and was hoping for good things. I wasn’t anywhere near as sore as I was last week. Barely any DOMS in my legs. Only way you could tell I did a lot of work a few days ago is from the scabbing on my shins and the bruises on my inner arms. But even then that can’t say from a glance that was from training haha. I was looking forward to training and got stuff setup during my lunch break. Planned a big dinner. Upper back didn’t feel like it needed much foam rolling, especially on the second go through. Hip flexors were tight but not murderously tight like last week. Other movement prep stuff felt good. Literally only had aches in joints on the first go through. So on to lifting. Axle push presses again. Plan was to do 2 doubles and then a rep set keeping 2RIR. Tried to film these from the side and get more of my legs into view. Warming up was a bit different in that doubles but pausing the first rep. Did that up until I was in the 50-60% range. Then just regular doubles. I had hoped by this point that weights wouldn’t feel so darn heavy on my shoulders in the rack. I think if this had been triples this week again, I’d have been in trouble with potentially missing reps on sets. But doubles seemed ok. As seems to be the case, first set seems to be a bit hesitant, at least on that first rep. 2nd set felt really good and I was hoping to do well on the last set then. Got things set and put on music that would get me hyped. Launched the first rep up and then it felt like the same for the second but it went out in front of me a little and it was difficult to lockout with my right arm to stabilize it. I just lost all momentum and the set just died. I couldn’t guarantee at that point I had 2 more reps in the tank if I went for anymore. And that sucks as this was to gauge improvement and how to progress from here. I feel like I could’ve done another double or so but this was where I stopped things. Annoyed with myself as I was feeling good like I could compete right this second. But I need to chill. Need to be getting at least 5 reps here minimum. I will say that doing these without rebounding reps is making these much harder for me. Next was paused push presses. Back up to 70% but beltless this time and only 2 seconds holds. I was advised that I was rebounding these last time so I tried to fix that this time around. I was a little slow at the start as the weight actually felt heavy on my shoulders. This hasn’t been the case the past two weeks after the top heavy sets. So that through me off a little. But I got the sets and weights done. Right knee was feeling a little sore on push pressing today. And I wondered if my bruised arms maybe had something to do with how these felt today. Well the next thing for the workout was the bench rows so that would test things out. So plan here was a hard set of 6 and then based off that, do 3x8 with about 10-12.5% less. This can be tricky as more reps is more time and I tend to fatigue. A 2 rep difference feels big on these. So based off how the past two weeks were on these, I figured that 195lbs would be where I should do my top set. But it felt way too easy and I stopped at three reps. So I put on the bar what my proposed 1rm from app said it would be for my set. And I got that with still probably a rep in the tank. Huh. Went with the lightest weight to be within the numbers as this was going to be tough with my biceps and back feeling it. Ring push-ups next. Same as last time, feet on the ground and do 1-3 ct for the negative. 3 sets with bodyweight and leaving 2 reps in the tank each set. Got an extra 2 reps on that first set. Second set was the same as last week but I think that was more because I was actually feeling my chest on these finally and I wasn’t sure how fatigue there would affect things as I’m used to the triceps and/or shoulders fatiguing first. Matched 12 reps again on the last set for a 3 reps increase from last time. So then the last thing of the evening was the band trisets. I lowered the band tensions back to what I did the first week as the intent is light blood flow work. And the band y raises felt a ton better with just the one band. Had about 4.5lbs of beef for dinner and stretched before icing my knees and shoulders. Hopefully no ouches tomorrow and I don’t fall short again. Third week seems to be the test.

March 27, 2021 – Week 2, Day 4

Mobility Prep
 
Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Bulgarian Split Squats (3-0-3-0 tempo)
bwx3/3
15’sx3/3 (kettlebells)
65x8/8
68x8/8
70x8/8
72x8/8

Titan Fitness Farmer’s  Holds (20” pick)
135x5 seconds
185x5 seconds
225x5 seconds
275x5 seconds
315x5 seconds
365x16.69 seconds
315x30.45 seconds
325x32.54 seconds

Power Keg Loads Over Bar (62”)
144x1
193.5x1
244x1
284x1
319x1
319x1
319x1
319x1
319x1
319x0
319x1
319x1
319x1
319x1
319x1

Sandbag Carries (turns at 50’)
313x100’ in 22.33 seconds
313x100’ in 21.60 seconds

Treadmill Backwards Pushes
3 minutes
3 minutes

Stretching
 
Comments: This was another long one. To be expected really when it comes to doing event type training. Always has been. Session began and ended thinking about mortality and strongman. Little bits of motivation but half the time I can’t tell if I’m fueling a passion or an illness. I slept well so that was a good start. So starting off with movement prep stuff. Legs and core. Stepdowns didn’t like my knees today. No issues with anything else. Better balance on the b-stance rdls and didn’t feel quite as bad fatigue wise on the core stuff for my lagging side. Stepdowns did feel slightly better the second go through. Hoping that they don’t complain too much (especially the right one). So on to lifting. As I mentioned last week, I was really not looking forward to the first exercise of the day. Split squats with tempo. My legs had just finally gotten over the soreness from last week (which was exacerbated by push pressing I think haha).  I hoped though that since I’ve done them once, I’ll have some adaptation to it and it won’t be as rough. Plan being 4x8 again and aim for same level of intensity. Tips for this time was to start with lagging side (now that I know) and to take full rests between sides so that full effort given. I also made a purchase of a foot rest with a rolling pad that was ergonomic for the back foot so didn’t have to worry about balancing on the bench. That was a game changer. These honestly went a lot smoother this go around. I actually felt comfortable enough to add weights to the bar (very tiny weights). Didn’t start feeling the leg shaking fatigue until the very last set. No cramping during the sets either. I can definitely see that there is a tightness difference between the sides but actually seemed about even strength wise this time around. So after that was heavy stuff. Farmer’s holds, working same schema as the behind the back holds from last week, plan was 15 seconds with 1-2 seconds in the tank followed by 2 sets of 30 seconds with 3-5 seconds in the tank. I’m a bit better with gauging seconds in the tank with farmer’s handles but depends on the day and how the handles sit in the hand. The thing that is tricky here is that I can hold on to stuff well above what I can actually lift. With the behind the back lift, I can elevate the bar high enough that no really lower body effort involved and the weak link is the grip. Depending on the pick height with farmer’s, I can potentially not even get the weight off the ground but if raised up a little, I can pick it and hold it for a good bit of time. So the advisement for this was to have the pick height be 18-20”. So that lead me to using the little wood platforms and the crash pads. I was uncertain. One, I’ve never tried to pick up anything heavier than 650lbs total on these handles before and this weight had not felt good in the hand with the makeshift frame grip despite being elevated to 28” pick. I didn’t use chalk for the warm-ups and working up sets. I guess I like to have that knowledge that I add that and my grip will be solid. My rehband belt of 11yrs (literally to this date) had a piece of it break. I can still use it. I tend to hold on to things until they no longer function. Maybe that says something about me? 315lbs felt a bit harder than I would’ve liked. My hands were a little sweaty and the these handles are slick where there is no knurling (and I hate knurling on farmer’s handles). So began that period of figuring out where to go from here. I told myself I had to try heavier. The plan I had in my head had been to give 365lbs an honest shot. But that didn’t seem likely. I’ve built a lot of worries into myself this past year. Worries I can’t recover from training, that putting my all into it will result in me having to dial things back for a month or more. Lack of confidence in my grip strength and just my body in general. The same stuff I’ve been feeling since 2019. So talked myself into going for 355lbs a hand. But right as I was about to go, I remembered that I am able to still do this stuff. Life and death haven’t stopped me yet. And there are so many that no longer can do this sport. So I put the extra 10lbs on and got set. The pick was really fricken’ hard but I got it locked out. I thought I’d drop like right away with how hard the grind to lockout felt but once I was there, I felt pretty darn solid. Honestly, I felt more in control of the weight in my hands then I did with the behind the back grip last week. So then the downsets. 315lbs I think was a little too light so I added 5lbs per side for the second set with 30 seconds. That was about right. Heavy stuff but not done yet. Still got a good bit of work left to do. So next up was keg loads. It has been 2.5yrs since I last did one. So I was going to be a little rusty I’m sure. The plan here was to do 70-75% of a casual keg load for 10x1 EMOM. However, I wasn’t really sure what that would even be for me. I’ve never attempting a keg heavier than 354lbs and that had been for height prepping for an event. I had commented to myself that I could probably do a 450lbs keg earlier this year despite my deadlift feeling like crap. So initially, I was thinking I guess 245-265lbs to be that percentage of 354lbs. But after talking with Drew, that number was drastically more. The suggestion then had been doing the load to 54-58” and aim for low to mid 300’s or keep it at 62” and do between 300lbs – 320lbs. So that changed this considerably. Only keg I’ve touched in the past 2yrs has been 215lbs to 296lbs. So this was going to be interesting. I did at least remember that it was going to scrape the crap out of my shins and bruise my arms. Taped my thumbs as I remembered that was a spot that sometimes got rubbed raw. Warming up was necessary but felt weird. Keg loads are weird in that the pick is usually the hardest part followed by standing up with it. The lap and extension are super easy for me. At least when I remember how to grip the keg. Those first six lifts, I was jamming my thumb into the lip to support. Learned that after I got off balance on the sixth attempt that my thumb was too fatigued to stay stable and lost it. I escaped the keg that time. I felt like such an idiot when I realized I just had to grip with the meaty part of my palm and the lift got easy. Almost done. So next up was sandbag carries. Medium bag for two sets of 100’, turn at 50’. I was advised to do picks to warm-up but I didn’t. After doing a baker’s dozen of lifts that were essentially that, I figured that I’d just be burning my back out more for the actual sets. Had a discussion on what constitutes a medium bag. As fairly recently I was doing runs with my 313lbs bag and sprints with my 275lbs bag. I was told either one works, this was more to make sure I didn’t forget how to move with weight. As if I would. I did. Holy hell was my posterior chain just wrecked by this point. The picks were pretty hard considering and I moved really slow. I tried to go fast but my fast just wasn’t there. Last thing for the day was to be a lot of sled drags. Light weight for 3 minutes, rest and then 3 minutes again. I elected to do the treadmill stuff I had been doing as a warm-up previously as about the same thing and purpose but a lot less worry about setup and avoiding cars and people. 3 minutes feels a lot longer than 2 minutes. But the same can be said for the 3 minutes rests too. I was a very sweaty person by the end of this. Ate big dinner and stretched before icing my knees. Got to keep my recovery up for next week.

March 25, 2021 – Week 2, Day 3

Mobility Prep
 
12” Log Incline Bench Presses
90x3
130x3
165x3
195x3
225x6
225x6
225x6
200x13

Inverted Ring Rows
bwx3
bw+20x8
bw+20x8
bw+20x8
bw+20x8

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions/ Dumbbell Lateral Raises/Band Face Pulls
10’sx15/10’sx15/lbx15
10’sx15/10’sx15/lbx15
10’sx15/10’sx15/lbx15

Stretching
 
Comments: Well this time last week, my body wasn’t feeling the best. Yes, sore from training and hopefully allergies. I was also feeling like I was being run down. Really was hoping that wasn’t the case starting two days into training. Shoulders were super achy and sore (and not in the fun way) and I had just gotten first of two shots for vaccine. Flash forward to this week. Still sore but only in my quads at this point. Haven’t had to take allergy stuff for the past few days (nasal spray and Advil) and having good appetite. I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect this time around. Maybe. Mobility stuff for the lats, traps and scap again. Shoulders were really feeling achy on these. Second go through was better. Then it was time to lift the weights. Log incline again. Advised this time to make bigger jumps to warm-up. Shoulders didn’t feel like I had inflamed tendons this time around so that was doable. So the plan here being the warming up with triples and then doing 5lbs more than what I did for my top set of 8 for 3x6 and then drop down to the weight I used for sets of 8 last week for a max reps set. So kind of like the bench rows. Now not quite the same. Remembering this is just the secondary pressing day. As mentioned, these look really easy and smooth on camera but they don’t feel like it. There are like 5 sticking points for me haha. Could tell my lower back was a little tight from Tuesday with unracking the log. First set ok. Not great but not bad. I didn’t need to use the car buffer between sets to help  so that’s a win. Second set was ok but didn’t start out great. After the first rep, I figured why not tuck my elbows? Mistake, made me lose like all my power on this, especially on the right side. Back to what I was doing after that. Which seems to involve more chest and triceps for me. Third also done. No missed reps. Again, not the ease I’m used to with these (or had been used to) but still feeling better than last week. This isn’t the main thing that I want to be improving, it is just something that will help me improve. So after that was ring rows. 4x8 with slight holds at the top. I was not expecting these to feel strong, but they did. I did a few reps with no weight to see how things felt and then put on 20lbs of weights on my hips. Needed to see how that felt so that I can gauge how much I can potentially add to my bodyweight if needed for this exercise. Someone a house over was having a very loud conversation and despite my music being a decent level, I could still hear everything they were saying. I just want to lift on my patio without hearing someone else yammering about nothing. I was kind of surprised that I was not feeling like super fatigued after the sets as is sometimes the case with multiple sets for reps. Last bit of the workout was again the triset of light exercises for three rounds of 15 reps. I was advised this time to try and get away with using less weight on the triceps and use a stricter tempo. Not a problem. My 10lbs dumbbells might have been just too light for the triceps stuff. Everything else I had on point. Went through all three runs no stop and for good reason. Started raining as soon as a finished so I got my stuff inside before too much rain water got on things. Assuming this shows up again, I’ll need to put together my dumbbell handles so I got things right for next time. Had a roast for dinner and then stretched.

March 23, 2021 – Week 2, Day 2

Mobility Prep
 
14” Jack Stand Pulls
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
Added Straps
445x1
485x3
485x3
485x3
485x3

Paused Romanian Deadlifts (3 seconds mid-shin, beltless)
135x3
185x3
225x3
Added Straps

275x3
315x10
285x10
285x10

Lateral Step Downs (14”)/ Copenhagen Planks (ver 1)
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds

Seated Band Hamstring Curls/Single Leg Calf Raises (0-3-0-3 tempo)
(2)mb’sX20/bwx10 (5 unassisted)/10 (7 unassisted)
(2)mb’sX20/bwx10 (4 unassisted)/10 (8 unassisted)

Stretching
 
Comments: Well good news is that the parts of my legs that were sore yesterday aren’t as sore today. The bad news it new parts of my legs are sore from the push pressing haha. So no foam rolling or stretching to start this session out. Might have needed some of that today for my quads. Right into the movement prep. Oof, ATG split squats did not want to happen today. I needed to do a little stretching for the tight hip flexors. They eventually loosened up enough that I was able to get in a tough set. Band marches didn’t help alleviate the soreness one bit haha. Then on to the dead bugs and side planks. And then run through it again. Split squats felt a ton better the second time through. Everything else felt about the same. Then into the garage to lift some weights. I had setup stuff during my lunch break to try and get stuff moving along. So same as last week in that having jack stand/block pulls. This time 4x3. I was advised to go up 10-20lbs from last time and use what I did last week as 75% and do 80% today. That made this end up being 30lbs more than last time. I really had no clue how this would go. 1) legs sore as shit standing up and walking, 2) more block pulls after what has been like 4 years of alternating weekly from “heavy” and “speed” and 3) warming up didn’t feel great last time. It is hard to say though about things if I had to do that to help recovery because I had low tolerance or if I had bad recovery because I didn’t build up tolerance? Warm-ups did feel better this time around. It was getting humid so I opened up the garage to let some air in and possibly mosquitos. Now the suggestion I was given for this was to try and break off the ground and then accelerate as well as try to get the lats involved more. The idea being to change out the straps as figure 8’s seem to make that part of engagement lazy. No problems there as these straps grip fine. I did do a single before the working sets just because the most I’ve done with these until recently was for rack chins and those rows yesterday. Almost been a year since I was doing those +900lbs partial lifts with the yoke for that cancelled contest. Honestly, these felt about the same as last week other than that none of the reps or sets felt as easy as that one set did last time. My platform shifted slightly on me on the last set but no issues. So after that was done, on to the rdls. So I did do them not the intended way last time. I was to stop at where I was pausing and then lift, not go all the way down, pause and then finish. While still working the hamstrings and glutes (and greater ROM), the plan was to work on the sit back and keep constant tension on them. So instructions were the same in doing triples up to the top weight and I was advised to push these but leave 2 reps in the tank. Again, can be hard to gauge with holds and what not as to what I do have left in the tank. But I figured I had at least another 50lbs in me from what I did last week, assuming that constant tension wasn’t even more taxing then what I was doing last week. I set up my crash pads so that I had a tactile depth to hover at since I know I’ve been guilty in the past of cutting these higher as I got fatigued. Well 275lbs felt easy enough that I went for 315lbs. In retrospect, this might have still been lighter than I should’ve but not by much. Close enough, especially with this being a 90lbs jump from last week. After that was drop 10% for another 2 sets of 10 reps. Just took off 30lbs rather than get into the tiny numbers since I figured that I was still light. These sets were quite exhausting. Last few reps of the last set was when I finally felt my lats engaging and being able to feel like I was doing the cues. Go figure. Since I was done with bracing against weight bent over, I was able to get some fluids in before moving on to the rest of it. As with last time, pairing of single legs and planks. I tested things out (I knew that I was not as tall that I’d hit my ceiling on the setup) and knee felt okay so I increased the height by 2”. I wasn’t sure really if I’d be ok for the balance and what not with my legs so sore. But I adapted. Only lost my balance once on each side on the very first set. Got better and better as I went. The odd planks I was advised to use my bench to try and get things aligned better. Maybe that worked.  Last item for the day was seated band hamstring curls and single leg calf raises with modified tempo. Most of my tempo stuff has been slow eccentrics or concentrics with maybe a slight hold at contraction. These were holds at max stretch and max contraction. I didn’t think there would be any issues with the hamstring curls but I kept them the same tension so that I could see how the other stuff affected them and to text and see if my plan to cover my ankles with knee sleeves/braces would help keep them from digging into my Achilles tendon. So success on that front. But dear lord were the calf raises torture. Like, I didn’t even have the balance to do them without holding on to something. I was advised that I could use my other leg to assist with the concentrics if/when it was too difficult to continue. I was very shocked to see that my supposed stronger calf was lagging behind so much. I’ve always had a problem with getting full contraction on the calves or full ankle extension. Not sure if just a weakness or if my very large feet have something to do with it too. I was getting really fatigued on these and a few times the block tipped and smacked me in the shins (only on the last set). So other than the calf exercise serving up a double helping of humble pie, this felt like a good workout. Big dinner, stretched and then iced my knees (mainly due to the bruising from the wood block hitting me haha).

March 22, 2021 – Week 2, Day 1

Mobility Prep
 
Axle Push Presses
45x1
65x1
85x1
105x1
125x1
145x1
165x1
185x1
205x1
225x1
245x1
265x3
265x3
265x3

Paused Axle Push Presses (3 seconds, beltless)
208x4
208x4
208x4

Chest Supported Barbell Rows (2 seconds hold, straps)
135x3
170x6
170x6
170x6
150x13

Ring Push-ups (3 seconds negatives, feet on ground)
bwx13
bwx12
bwx11

Underhand Band Pullaparts/Band Y Raises/ Band Triceps Pressdowns
mbx10/(2)µbx10/ lb+µbx25
mbx10/(2)µbx10/lb+µbx25

Stretching
 
Comments: I had done a week of new training and it was another week before I knew it. Some stuff has definitely not recovered from Saturday by this point. Too bad. Some shoulder aches but my quads and glutes are feeling major DOMS. To be expected honestly with controlled negatives. But man those split squats killed me. Seeing as this week has them again, I purchased a rolling foot stand so that hopefully I won’t have issues with my feet being on the bench like last week. With this training today, the only thing I was worried about was the push press because my legs were toast. This new packaging on chicken seems hit or miss. Mostly ok but another not so good one today. I mean it was loads better than that one that started off Monday last week. My thinking is that these cheap bastards are skimping on the marinade so they come out tougher. Upper back didn’t feel like it needed nearly as much foam rolling as it did last week. Definitely needed those hip flexor stretches for my legs. All the other stuff was easier and better this time. Besides the split squats the first set. That was not fun. Just so damn tight. But seemed ok after that haha. Just have to remember to start with the left side now since that is the one lagging behind. So after that, outside for training training. I had moved the squat rack back outside during my lunch break. Axle push presses again. Plan being work up to 3x3 with 5-10lbs more than last week. Specifically being told not to do rebound reps this week. I didn’t like how my warm-ups felt last week and my hope was altering that so that I didn’t have a slow start and feel like it was a mistake again. So reverted to doing 20lbs jump singles. Hopefully this would allow me to get used to things more gradual and see how my legs were handling things. Another day of blowing out my PC speakers (replacement should show up this week). I’m not sure if this warm-up was better or not. Hard to say with how sore my legs were. I do think things were a little better but that could also be me realizing that the weight feeling heavy from the rack doesn’t mean I can’t lift it. Lockouts felt slow on the first set. Second set, each rep felt faster and stronger. Third set was a bit of both the first and second set. Right triceps seems to lag behind. Left shoulder feels a little achy when it comes to lockouts. Next was paused push presses. A bit of change from last time. Less weight, more reps per set and being advised to go beltless. I really tried this time to get it to be 3 seconds hold in the dip and I succeeded on that. Shoulders were tired but didn’t feel like I was so exhausted or out of position like last week. So that is good. Really got fluids in me after the pressing was done and got things setup for the rows. Same as last time but using straps as suggested. Being advised to try normal style straps vs figure 8s to see if I can keep from having bad habit of not engaging lats on pulls. Did a light warm-up and then got ready. I had to keep double checking to make sure I was only to be doing sets of 6. This did feel a little tougher than last time but I was using more weight across these sets. After those sets, dropped the weight 20lbs for a max rep set. Leave 2 in the tank. Gets tiring with the holds as mentioned. Need to keep in mind I did heavy rows just two days ago as well. I was a little hesitant on whether to go for 13 reps or not as hard to gauge when at that limit. Stopped there as I felt any more and I’d start to risk form breaking due to fatigue. Ring push-ups next. As I suspected, I had done a harder variation then intended. More reps. So feet on the ground this time and advised to only do 1-3 ct for the negative. So I did the 3 seconds. 3 sets with bodyweight and leaving 2-3 reps in the tank each set. I didn’t bother keeping count that first set but did after that. Wanted to make sure I was getting double digits on all sets. Stopped each set when I felt my triceps were getting quakey trying to lockout the rep. So the end of the workout was adjusted a bit. Sets dropped for the two shoulder based band things but the superset now being a triset. With how things felt last time and how I usually adapt to band exercises, I figured that I could increase the tension on two of the three. The shoulder stuff didn’t cook me as much this time. I think mostly because it was just two times through. Maybe I can up tension on the band pull aparts next time (assuming they show up again). Y raises I think need to stay at this tension. Triceps did well considering last time they were separate and I had slightly less tension and I took a rest between sets. Ate meatloaf and stretched. No icing knees but I did use car buffer to try and work some of the soreness out of my quads, hips and glutes. Because I got to lift tomorrow.

March 20, 2021 – Week 1, Day 4

Mobility Prep
 
Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Bulgarian Split Squats (3-0-3-0 tempo)
bwx3/3
15’sx3/3 (kettlebells)
65x8/8
65x8/8
65x8/8
65x8/8

Safety Squat Bar Zercher Goodmornings (3 seconds negatives)
65x3
115x3
155x3
205x9 (miscounted)
225x8
235x8
245x8

Paused Sandbag Rows (short ways, 1 second holds)
175x5
225x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

Behind The Back Barbell Holds
135x5 seconds
225x5 seconds
315x5 seconds
385x5 seconds
455x15 seconds
365x30 seconds
365x30 seconds

Backward Sled Drags
375x75’ in 21.11 seconds
485x75’ in 24.13 seconds
620x75’ in 31.22 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: This was a long one. I say that because of the protocols and setup required for some of these exercises today. Shoulders weren’t really sore at all after a day of rest and doing car buffer on them. Slept well and was surprised it I woke up before noon. Getting ready to train and then a technical problem. Audio cable for my iPod to speakers just broke off. I spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out something else for the time being. Ended up using my desktop, bumping up the master control volume, and facing the speakers toward the garage. Hopefully replacement arrives next week. Before I started started, I did some street sweeping of debris as I’d need that for later. Just that little bit of work let me know that my shoulders and upper back still were feeling this week’s trainings. So starting off with movement prep stuff. Legs and core. With part was the stepdowns that I had been doing for a while but with the knee issue (I had to wrap with a knee brace really tight and fight through tears the last time I did them) so I was leery about it. Not entirely pleasant that first set with the right leg but as I went, felt better. This was followed by a strange stance rdl and then bird dogs and side planks. The bird dogs really showed me how much the disc and nerve stuff still effects that one side. Then it was on to the training. I was really not looking forward to the first exercise of the day. Split squats with tempo. And a good deal of reps. I knew this was going to cook me good from my experiences doing tempo stuff when I was working around the disc pain relapse leading up to the 2019 Arnold. But that had been machines so balance was taken out of the equation. So options with this were either hold weight in the hands or use ssb. I elected to do ssb so as not to prefatigue my grip before the other stuff that would need grip. I started with my right leg because I assumed it would be the one that gave me fits. But I was wrong. Other than the initial discomfort to the knee, this was my good side. Holy crap was that another story for the left leg. So uncoordinated and the strength just isn’t there. I was wobbly and didn’t get through a single set without losing balance and having to grab my squat rack. Had a few missed reps so I might have actually done more than 8 reps on some sets on my non-dominant side. Lessons learned for next time. Start with that one and take full rest between sides. So lot of twitching going on in the legs and glutes after that. On to the next one. So next up being ssb gms zercher style with accentuated negatives. Been some time since I’ve done something like these. Plan here being 4x8. With how I was feeling after the split squats, I took things light to see how I felt. My first work set was too light as I lost count and did an extra rep. So kept adding weight but not going to hog on that since I needed to not make these super tough. Lowering these slowly wasn’t really that much of an issue. Wore knee braces on my arms for padding and to keep from slipping/sliding. In hindsight, probably could’ve done the last weight as my working weight for all sets. But I didn’t think I’d be recovered really from the split squats that quickly. So after that was sandbag rows. I was feeling some quad crapping by this point. Nothing really set here other than 3x5 and making sure to hold for 1-2ct. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel with these. Haven’t done holds on these in a few years too. So since I’ve been doing them long ways for a bit, decided to do them short ways. I wasn’t sure with the holds if I could do 275lbs but this seemed negligible in how it was affecting my strength with these so I ended up using that weight for 3x5. So after that was a new one for me as far as grip training. Behind the back holds. I’ve seen these before and it makes sense in that you can’t use the thighs to support the weight and assist the thumbs if done from the front. I didn’t really know what to expect as far as numbers here. Plan was 15 seconds with 1-2 seconds in the tank followed by 2 sets of 30 seconds with 3-5 seconds in the tank. Seconds in the tank can be tough to figure out. I started with just 135lbs and that was way too light so I took big jumps. I figured based off of that, I could do at least 405lbs for the top set. I think I got greedy here as I went for 455lbs and that was pretty much near the limit. I was counting these in my head so I might have been a second too soon to set down. Dropped 90lbs for the next two sets. I thought that might have been too much with how it felt in my hands but I managed it. I hadn’t rechalked my hands so I did for the next set and that felt a good bit more comfortable. Looking back at the video, they were both over 30 seconds so that was good. So then the last item of the day. Sled drags. Haven’t really done these in some time but I figured that I wouldn’t be too far off what I could normally do since for the past few months, I’ve been doing backwards treadmill stuff for 2 minutes before sessions so this seemed to be something I would be conditioned for. The only thing really was what shape my quads were in after the split squats since those were brutal. Started out pretty light and it went about as expected. Plan here was increasing difficulty and trying to do 75’ runs between 20-40 seconds to finish. This was a time vampire since I needed to reset the course each time since the difference in difficult of the sled drag uphill vs downhill is huge. This did give me a good rest for the quads between sets though. So from that first set, I felt that 110lbs was a good jump. Not sure if I was just getting warmed up or if the increase in weight allowed me to lean back into more but this felt easier than planned. And only 3 seconds slower. I had expected this to be closer to 27 seconds or so. So I figured that I needed to go a bit heavier for the last set. I was originally planning 555lbs since that is the most I’ve done for more than 30’ but with things feeling how they were, I had moved it up to 575lbs and maybe 585lbs. But after that easy middle set, I went more. 600lbs. But then last moment, added 20lbs more to it. That was a good one. Had to work for this one. Surprised that this was only 10 seconds slower than my first run honestly. Took a bit of time to put stuff away. Stretched while waiting for my roast to cook. Didn’t ice my knees after this one as I felt it was important for the muscle worked to go through the inflammation process unabated. A week of training down. Curious what next week will bring.

March 18, 2021 – Week 1, Day 3

Mobility Prep
 
12” Log Incline Bench Presses
90x3
110x3
130x3
150x3
170x3
210x3
230x3
250x1
220x8
200x8
200x8
200x8

Inverted Ring Rows
bw+11x8
bw+11x8
bw+11x8
bw+11x8

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions/ Dumbbell Lateral Raises/Band Face Pulls
40’sx15/10’sx15/LBx15
40’sx15/10’sx15/LBx15
40’sx15/10’sx15/LBx15

Stretching
 
Comments: These have been tough workouts. Noticing things that haven’t been sore in a while or haven’t been sore in that way before. Still watching that Achilles tendon thing. Less and less worried about the knee. Uncertain how this day would go. It has been many months since I’ve done two pressing workouts in a week and even then, it was only briefly. Before that, it has been since 2017 I think and that was when I was still coming back from lower back injury and was doing very light stuff. I had added to the mix getting a vaccine shot the day before. Literally a last minute thing that was available so I kind of knew that there was a possibility that I’d been hampering things. I was already feeling allergies acting up and hard to say if the workouts are wearing me down too. Wasn’t too bad but my shoulder was getting really sore by the end of the day. I ended up talking nasal spray and Advil liquid gels when I woke up as I was going to need it to get through the fog and have my shoulder shut up for a bit. It eventually felt much less stiff and inflamed by the end of my shift. It was raining off and on all day. Not enough that would stop me from training but enough that I felt it made sense to walk my squat rack into the garage for training. No lower body stuff this session so knees shouldn’t be complaining and bit lower on volume and exercises so I should be able to manage even if not feeling the best. Mobility stuff was mainly focused on the scapulae, traps and lats. No lower body stuff for the warm-up. Just kind of used to that from before. The scap work was harder than I was expecting it to be. Band stuff was good. I was a little anxious that the face pulls would aggravate the left trap thing I had the past two weeks but nothing today. As has been the case, stuff feels better the second go through. So now on to the meat and potatoes. So the plan here was to do triples on log incline bench up to a top weight for a smooth set of 8 reps (leave 2 in the tank) and then drop like 7.5% - 10% off that weight and do 3x8. So big brain Craig was thinking before this 240-250lbs because of how this exercise has been going. But again, that has been when “fresh”. Granted it was after the other pressing but that was less volume usually and only recently was it paired with me doing rest pause stuff beforehand. This being the second pressing session (and having a sore shoulder and not feeling 100%) should’ve told me what I should do and aim for. Lifted my empty log and got a wakeup call. Both shoulders were sore. Like, felt like the tendons in the anterior deltoid were inflamed. I guess doing a bunch of push pressing, paused push pressing and then negative accentuated push-ups on gymnastic rings is going to do that to you. Especially when not doing those previously. So I figured I needed to be taking small jumps in weight to make sure things are ok and keep things warm. I would add weight, use my car buffer on my shoulders for a few seconds and then do a set. Make it through this. I made an error at 230lbs. What I should’ve done was swallow my pride and do my top set there. But I thought that if I got a good song on and put on my wrist wraps, I could feel the power coursing through me like when I did my max rep set of push presses earlier in the week. Gave it a shot but could tell immediately that it was too heavy for today and reracked the weight after a single. Now I needed to figure out how much I had to take off of this to ensure that my sore shoulders would let me get a solid set of eight reps. Shoulders didn’t want to do these today and my triceps tend to fatigue first on these from past experience. Either the shoulders are tired and don’t want to cooperate or I hit a sticking point near the end. I’ve been training this exercise without wrist wraps but I felt it made sense to use them to ensure I got my reps since I had already done a heavy pressing session this week. These always look easier than they feel. Got 220x8 and then took my time getting the other sets. It was more making sure my triceps were recovered enough to keep locking out the reps. 20lbs off for 200lbs. So pretty much 10% off to get these reps in. Hope is that I will adapt (or continue to adapt) to this training and next week I won’t be feeling this sort of way. But I can tolerate this feeling over body hurts that don’t seem to relate to things or recover. Or when my head says “it’s time to be sad now” for no reason. So after that was ring rows. 4x8 with slight holds at the top. Pretty much what I had done last time I did these. I was thinking that bodyweight would be tough enough despite this being what I did last time. My thinking was that I wasn’t feel so great, already done back stuff this week, etc. But doing a rep felt super easy so I figured I’d take a chance with adding a little bit of weight. The suggestion was to put weight on my lap. I had been testing out the chains and making weights like a belt or sash or vest situation and that had worked. So I made a belt of the chain for weight. As always seems to be the case with rows, they get harder as I go. But this was encouraging that these felt strong. After that was the last bit of the workout. As has been the case, most of the accessory stuff has been lumped together. Usually two things paired. This time it was three. 3x15 for each. Dumbbell extensions into lateral raises into banded face pulls. Even though I hadn’t really done these kinds of exercises for some time (some months, others years) I figured I could do them with what I got. The trick would be surviving through three rounds as the fatigue builds up. With the triceps, I figured I should be good as I’ve done these for over 50 reps in one set straight shot before. Body doesn’t forget something like that. So figured that would be fine. The raises and pulls I wasn’t so sure. Shoulders were super sore and I was worried it might be too light. Also as mentioned, wasn’t sure about the face pulls. Set Thunderstruck on and go to work. First round good, same with the second round. I could tell by the end of the second round, the weights for the other two exercises were right to get through the last set. Shoulders and upper traps were so fatigued and full of lactic acid by the end. This was one of those rare incidences where I finished my gallon jug of BCCAs as I finished the workout, rather than having stuff leftover to drink while cooling down. I was actually quite ravenous when it came to dinner. I was not expecting that with the lighter workload compared to the past two workouts. Ended up icing both shoulders before bed. Took some more Advil liquid gels to keep my sore shoulders and my allergies from keeping me up at night. 

March 16, 2021 – Week 1, Day 2

Mobility Prep
 
14” Jack Stand Pulls
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
Added Straps
455x3
455x3
455x3
455x3
455x3

Paused Romanian Deadlifts (3 seconds 1” below knees, beltless)
135x3
185x3
Added Straps
225x10
225x10
225x10

Lateral Step Downs (12”)/ Copenhagen Planks (ver 1)
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds
bwx3x10/10—bwx20/20 seconds

Seated Band Hamstring Curls
mb’sx10
(2)mb’sX20
(2)mb’sX20
(2)mb’sX20

Stretching
 
Comments: Feeling the session from yesterday. To be expected with the increased volume and just all the new exercises. And not training at all for a week. No bad chicken today at least haha. I was worried that my right ankle/lower calf muscle would be hampering things. As I mentioned, I think I overstretched it trying to increase dorsiflexion to help with mobility. Lesson learned. Doesn’t hurt, just and odd sensation. So watching it. Thankfully, it didn’t affect any of today’s training. Putting on my shoes having an arch support actually made me not notice it. I had done a little soft tissue work with the car buffer to see how that felt during the work day. A little bit of a late start to training. So no foam rolling or stretching to start this session out. Right into the movement prep. As what appears to be a theme for me, I’m struggling with single leg stuff. Balance, coordination, flexibility and just the general creakiness of my knees. Left glute was cramping up in the first exercise of ATG split squats. After that was an odd one. Banded belt marches. I had a little troubleshooting figuring out how to get my feet into the bands. I figured it out haha. Not as tough as I was expecting it to be. Which was nice after the split squat stuff. Core stuff after that, which was more dead bugs and side planks. And then run through it again. Everything was going much smoother that time around. Noticeably easier for my left leg. Then it was time to do some lifting. Plan for the start was block/rack pulls from 14”. Do 5x3 with 75%-80%. I wasn’t sure what to really pick. Do it off of the 585lbs or off of 550lbs? Initially was going to do 440lbs as that would be 75% of 585lbs and 80% of 550lbs. But after how things went with push press, I was a little more confident and split the difference for 455lbs. So jack stands while standing on 2” platform to get 14”. Now starting out, this didn’t feel like it was going to be a banger session. But it did start to feel better as I went up in weight. Advised with these to control the lowering and to not adjust the bar between reps. Since the jack stands don’t move unless I don’t control it, that shouldn’t be a problem there. First set was little rough. Looking at the video it looks like I lifted it out and forward on that first rep. Picked some good music for these today. Best set was the fourth set. Felt effortless. After that was twist on and old one. I hope I did these right. RDLS with pauses right below my knee. Hold it there for 3 count. And do that for sets of ten reps. This was going to be interesting. So plan was to warm-up, starting at 135lbs and do triples up to work weight. Been a bit since I’ve done RDLS. Specifically indicated that these were to be beltless. My top weight was still pretty light but with the pauses, I had to account for that being exhausting. Since I had been doing 3” platform stiff legged deadlifts, I had gotten my hamstrings to be a bit more flexibly while keeping a neutral spine so I was able to keep form and touch the ground. I went to the ground and then paused right at the bump in my shin from my Osgood–Schlatter’s for the three count. My glutes were on fire. I wore straps so I could focus on the form and pauses without worrying about my grip. This was quite exhausting. I ended up needing my sweat rag haha. After that was lighter stuff but by no means easy. The next section of the workout was a pairing of single leg exercise and a plank I’ve never done before. Since I’m too damn tall, I had to do this outside. My knees wouldn’t let me do 18” so I went with 12” so that I could get work in and I could troubleshoot later. Balance was also an issue and I struggled. Assuming I did the easiest variation of these planks right, those seemed to go well. Definitely noticed that when I had my right leg on the matts, that it was harder than with the left leg. The planking felt about the same throughout. The step downs I got better and more coordinated as I went. I think that is going to be the case for a few sessions until I start getting that mind-muscle connection to click. Last item for the day was seated band hamstring curls. Another exercise I used to do many years ago. I thought that light band would be too much so went with mini band as hamstrings have been lagging it seems. However, just one band per leg felt way too easy and I didn’t think that it would become as difficult as the triceps stuff did yesterday by the next set so I stopped and added another pair. There we go. Perfect. Well I guess it would be nice if the bands didn’t dig into my Achilles haha. Finished up with a few minutes before the roast in the oven was done. Ate a good meal and stretched and then iced my knees before bed. Looking forward to a day of rest. Well as much as I can get of one.

March 15, 2021 – Week 1, Day 1

 So here we are, starting again. Groundhog day, repeating the same mistakes differently each time. So third attempt solo. Getting better at it. It’s a ton of work. No back injuries or flair ups this time around (other than that one day my back seized up). I think I could make it work but the issue I ran into was more just realizing that some things just aren’t there and I’d need more time to get to where they need to be. Not recovering from stuff quick enough. I started tweaking with stuff after my deadlift session that was subpar and more so after I picked myself up to train on Saturday. Realizing that I’d be pushing things to get to the same spot (struggling on press and deadlift, have to hit all-time bests on good events) made the scenario unlikely, especially since something I was doing was irritating my left trap and shoulder. Stuff that was getting taxed on frame carry and arm-over-arm. So kind of came to the conclusion that pursuing a specific event now didn’t make sense when the thing that needs work is my gym strength. And I’m not good at that. I’ve tried to understand it. And my worry with that is spending time away from the event work will leave me even further behind then I feel I already am. I tried figuring this stuff out back in 2016 after I got injured at the time and during those many months of recovery. I needed help. Reaching out was hard. Not because of pride but fear of rejection. Being told I’m a lost cause after doing weight training for about 2 decades at this point. This was my best. I had been looking around and was hoping to hear back from inquiries. I ended up doing only walks every other day and no training, waiting to hear back. I was very stressed out, it was not a good week. It took me literally all of Saturday to build up the courage to ask a fellow strongman competitor for coaching and programming. I try to not impose, take up space. I already feel I do take up too much space as it is. Always worried I will startle someone or be an inconvenience. I need to learn to take up space. So getting back in the saddle again. I don’t know anything else it seems. Just trying to get strong. I honestly have no clue if I will compete this year or not. Depends on how things go.

Mobility Prep
 
Axle Push Presses
45x5
85x3
135x1
165x1
195x1
225x1
255x3
255x3
255x3
255x7

Paused Axle Push Presses (2 seconds)
225x3
225x3
225x3

Chest Supported Barbell Rows (2 seconds hold)
135x8
145x8
155x8
165x8

Ring Push-ups (5 seconds negatives)
bwx8
bwx8
bwx6

Underhand Band Pullaparts/Band Y Raises
mbx10/µbx10
mbx10/µbx10
mbx10/µbx10

Band Triceps Pressdowns
lbx25
lbx25

Stretching
 
Comments: I honestly had no idea what to expect from myself today. Some familiar, some new and some bizarre haha. Workout stuff sent Sunday for a Monday workout (4 workouts this week) so I needed to take inventory and figure out most efficient way to get stuff setup. Well, that didn’t really happen as work on Monday was a bear and my setup didn’t happen until after work. Had to worst piece of chicken I’ve ever eaten for lunch. I cooked it, so that’s on me. Guess if that is the only real grumble, it has been a pretty good day so far. So warming up was a bit different from what I’ve been doing. Usually 2-5 minutes of moving around followed by general exercises for everything with some changes at the end of it geared toward either upper body or lower body. Warm up plan appears to be different for each day. This one might be the most unique in that warming up involved foam rolling and stretching. Not complaining. Those areas are chronically tight from desk work and left shoulder trap issue had been part of the reason I sidelined myself last week from training besides walking. This felt ok. I think I’ve avoided static stretching before training because of reading people saying not to. But it makes sense if the hip flexors are tight and prevent me from getting power into the overhead stuff. After that was a circuit. Shoulder stuff, legs, shoulder stuff and midsection. First part being scapular stuff. Got easier as I did it. Same with everything actually. Hardest stuff was the split squats. I was worried about the knees but they took it just fine. My balance and coordination just sucked is all. I’ll get better. BTN pressing in split stance was interesting. Seemed to be helping my shoulders track in the right plane. I alternated stance (went through this twice) and man did the other way split feel weird haha. So after all the razzmatazz, on to the weights. Plan here was work up to 80% of axle push press (assuming from the rack) and do triples. I was a bit nervous about this and was debating on whether I should go lower. 320lbs is my best out of the rack with axle within the last year and 310lbs with a clean. However, I haven’t gone over 290lbs on overhead in what feels like a long time. Actually has been like 9 months. I figured I’d see how things were. Left shoulder was feeling a little achy. Christ did that first set with 255lbs feel awful. Made me think I had bit off more than I could chew. I had to remind myself that out of the rack feels like total ass if I haven’t done it recently. It feels heavy on the wrists (hence wrapping them tight) and there isn’t that nice stretch flex from catching the bar on a clean. That first set was slow and tentative. Like 90% weight. Second set was a ton better. Much quicker and smoother. Just got a little off balance on the last rep and step forward. Third set was between the two. Again, a little unsteady on the recovery from the second rep so I ended up being in the dip a little longer. 3 triples done now one more set. This last set was to be for reps. Not a max rep set. A testing to see where I’m at with 80%. Idea here to stop with 1-2 in the tank. This can be a little tricky to gauge for me because when I’m on, these can go up really fast even when I’m near my limit. As I get fatigued, I tend to press out in front more, so my shoulders and triceps need to work even harder. And triceps haven’t really been subject to much volume at this kind of weight for quite some time honestly. It is very hard to control my excitement when it comes to sets like this. So I didn’t fight it. Felt like nothing compared to that first set. Very fast and powerful. I had honestly just a goal of 5 reps here since that would be a 5lbs PR with this particular axle at my garage gym setup. I stopped at 7 reps as I could feel that I was getting fatigued in the rack position and pressing out and away more as my lower back was reminding me. Maybe called it early but I feel this was a safe bet to stop and not have a grinding rep. I was happy with this considering how I’ve been feeling. But not done with push pressing for the session. Next was paused push presses. Drop 10% and do 3x3. So kind of easy math here. Plan being to pause at the bottom of the dip for a 2-3ct. I’ve had good success in the past with this kind of training on circus dumbbell. Not so much with log press. So be interesting to see how it works here. The weight felt so light after the 255lbs. Trying to do knees out and sink into the hips with the dips here on overhead. I always aim for the higher number when it comes to pauses as time seems to be slower when doing it but faster when viewed later haha. I had really tried to do 3 seconds pauses but it was closer to 2 seconds. Got closer to it on the last set. I could really tell that my rack position is garbage with how much I was feeling the weight fatiguing my shoulders holding it there. So after the pressing, a little break from the that with some back work. Chest supported barbell rows with holds (noticing a theme here). I had attempted to do these in my garage previously and I hated them as they irritated my biceps. Most of my supported rowing has been neutral grip or gives the option to rotate my hands as I move through the motion. However, I was reviewing videos to see how to set things up (as I didn’t like how things went last time) and found a setup that made me go “duh”. Don’t have it on the floor, use your squat rack arms stupid. Perfect position and bracing, no getting out of position to start the lift and no scraping the bar on the back of my incline bench. Plan here was 4x8 at RPE 7-7.5. I’ve never been the best at figuring that system out but I’m trying. I started lighter because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel from the holds as those are the most fatiguing part of it. Like for instance, I could do 50 reps with my 70lbs dumbbells with no tempo but under 20 reps with a 2 seconds hold each rep. Well, weight too light to start but I figured with fatigue it would get into that realm so I just added 10lbs a set and that was about right for the last two sets here. Really trying to get the shoulders to pull down and back to support them. So after that was a new one for me. Kind of. Ring push-ups. I’ve attempted these in the past at the Y with using my chains to suspend (I do not recommend, some many arm bruises). So no set reps on this, just really slow negatives and explode up, leaving several reps in the tank. I generally feel that slow tempo on negatives for a set time for many reps doesn’t make much sense but I do see it working with exercises that require an element of stability with it as there is that muscle irradiation going on. I was so focused on the lowering that I lost count of my reps each set and had to check afterwards. I’m not sure but I might have done a tougher variation then what was planned. I did these with my feet up on a bench as I assumed that was the case but I might have been supposed to do these with my feet on the ground. If so, oops. Only felt like I was fatiguing and struggling by the last set. Last bit for the session was bands. Superset of shoulders (front and back). Both new exercises to me so I used the bands shown in the video. I tried doing these all back to back. Fatigue set in on the last set and I had to top briefly to get the lactic acid burn to subside for a few seconds before resuming. Last thing being triceps band pressdowns. I initially thought I picked too light a band tension but the second set told me otherwise that I had chosen right. Oof, those bands were exhausting. In my haste to get ready, I had forgotten to run the dishwasher so I had to figure out substitutes for holding and cooking my dinner haha. Stretched (maybe a bit too much on the one calf) and iced my knees before bed.

March 6, 2021 – Week 3, Day 3

Really thought of just plugging the pull on this dream. Again. I get like this and I know from past experience that I need to sleep on it and take a moment to think things over. Figure out what went wrong and not be emotional about it. But like with the last time, I wasn’t sure how long this processing period was going to be. So mind went into that “no training for a week” stuff. And unfortunately, my bad habit I’ve developed has been to essentially fast. Not sure if it is punishment. Part of me thinks that I’m already eating a caloric surplus (feed a family of 4-6) and no sense eating so much if I’m not going to be training. Another part of me thinks it helps me focus on what is important. A hungry cat catches mice. Left trap being all tense wasn’t helping matters either. I wanted Friday to be over with quickly. Had my usual breakfast and then nothing until I went to bed (weight gain shake). I’m frustrated beyond belief and run out of patience. Patience I’ve had going on 3 years. And that patience was on top of another 7 years. I’m realizing that my lower back isn’t something that is really recovering week to week. Low pick height on frame carry takes it out of me with the other stuff. Looking back through post 2016 injury stuff, I’m finding that the only period that my raw deadlift went up as well as farmer’s walk was my very first training cycle back from injury, when both were light and it was a very long cycle. Any others, it has either not been an event, parts of training have been suited or fully suited when heavy. The plan for the deadlift could work for me but not in a way that would allow me to also train events in any meaningful way. One of the other. So going to modify some things from the plan to see if I can make something work. If not seeing satisfactory progress in another 3-5 weeks, I may need to reevaluate.

2 Minute Treadmill Backwards Pushes
 
Mobility Prep
 
Sandbag Rows/Sprints
175x5/25’/25’
225x5/25’/25’
275x5/25’/25’

Sandbag Carries/Sprints
175x25’/25’
225x25’/25’
275x25’/25’
175x25’/25’/225x25’/25’ in 14.44 seconds
175x25’/25’/225x25’/25’ in 14.19 seconds
225x25’/25’/275x25’/25’ in 16.10 seconds
225x25’/25’/275x25’/25’ in 15.61 seconds

Standing Arm-Over-Arm Pulls
255x25’ in 7.27 seconds
355x25’ in 7.42 seconds
435x25’ in 9.41 seconds

Seated Arm-Over-Arm Pulls
435x25’ in ?.?? seconds (lost footage)
615x25’ in 8.69 seconds
795x25’ in 14.87 seconds

One Arm Barbell Holds
(R)140x44.60 seconds
(L)140x54.40 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: I honestly wasn’t expecting this workout to happen. I had not planned on training. I had done no recovery work, taken none of my supplements (creatine, fish oil, nutradisc) and barely eaten anything the day before. I was fully expecting to be in a mental cocoon until Tuesday at the earliest. Reason being that I figured with the rack pull plan not working, there wasn’t a point in doing the planned workout since I was most likely not going to pursue training as if I were going to do a competition. But I guess I’m not done trying. Fine line between stubborn and stupid. Warm ups were good. I needed to see how my lower back and knee felt. Last time I did a session after the rack pulls, my lower back seized up on me doing warm-ups and I had to go with a light, light session for part of it. No knee brace this time. So up first, sandbags and sprints. Some things from last time I felt worked and others not so much. More I think that I wanted to do them but my back wouldn’t let me and I had done the bare minimum to warm-up. I had done single row, then sprint down and back, another row and then another spring down and back. So I figured since back was feeling better, I would do a set of rows and just one down and back sprint each set. I needed to see how 275lbs felt today as the plan had been to do 2 light runs and then 2 heavier runs. I look goofy when I sprint. Got a little off balance with the 275lbs sandbag on the last rep of the row. I wasn’t bothering with timing stuff until I got to the planned working sets. So like last time, I did a single carry down with each bag I was going to use today. However, I added a sprint to that as well so as not just running down and stopping. I was able to stay warm better this time around. Then the sets of two. I always worry about screwing up the pick on sandbags when it is a timed event for a medley as usually I can’t set my grip. The scramble is almost panic attack inducing for me. Got to get it out in training so that it’s not there in contest. I can stop if I have to and regroup. Ended up having to do that on my second set. I got rid of the crash pad as I realized that I was pushing off the sandbag from that elevated height rather than just using it as a space to mimic placement of a sled I need to load stuff in. Not that that isn’t a bad thing, but it was giving me a false spot to push off of which I won’t have in contest for this particular event. It will be lower to the ground so I need to work from that assumption. Light sets ended up being faster than my fastest time last session. Going up 50lbs on anything is tough, but that is what I have with my sandbag assortment. It would be nice to take a smaller jump and work up over time but sometimes you can’t do that with strongman implements and training. I think again, I was most worried about picking them up efficiently and not stumbling. Managed to get my last two runs under my slowest time last session, with my fastest run with the heavier set being faster than my second slowest last session too. I hadn’t felt like I was moving that well this time. So after that, arm-over-arm work. The sandbag stuff is a bit more applicable to moving events for medleys. Arm-over-arm not really much carryover to other things besides other arm-over-arm stuff. And I’m pretty good at this event when seated (i.e. full body). Standing is a bit of a different beast. I got a good bit of it training for the Amateur Arnold. I was thinking of if I could setup things differently from last week but that appears to be the best option with what I have available. It’s just such a pain in the ass. Had to get the squat rack from the patio out front and load up with weights and sandbags. Some stuff wasn’t as much of a pain, like the rope. There had been melted ice that I had to avoid with it last time. So plan here was to do what I did last time with 20lbs added to every set. I figured that’s not much to add really. I was a little leery about my biceps after all the sandbag work. My left biceps had been crampy the past two days and that might have been stress related. I got off balance near the end of the first set of standing so I mistimed and was a little slower than I would’ve liked. Managed to correct that for the second set. Things just seemed to be tougher on that last set. Was going to be the theme for the seated as well. I don’t know what I got on the first set as my camera didn’t film. Just took like 250 pictures of the street. Second set felt good but I noticed the sled was going at an angle. I think this was my fault from how I unloaded it earlier, taking all the weights off the front pegs, allowing the rope to adjust position. On the top set, my setup resulted in failure. My first tug on the rope knocked 4 plates off the sled from the way the rope was now angling. That was very annoying to reset. I put a spring clip on that side so that it wouldn’t come off again. Definitely a harder pull compared to last time. So this would normally be the end of the workout but I felt I had unfinished business since I up and quit the workout Thursday night. So that meant barbell holds. I knew these numbers would be lower after doing grip intensive things (sandbags and rope really work the fingers. So my hope was that this would be a lower number session and I’d be good by next time these come around. But another thought is that maybe this might end up being closer to how things are since the first week had been a week coming in being fresh. Started with the right this time since it was slacking behind. This felt tough immediately. My right hand appears to be the one that takes the lead and burnt of the strain on arm over arm when seated style. Almost a ten second disparity between the hands this time. Again, I’m hopeful that the numbers are better in the appropriate session and the disparity dissipates. Stretched, ate a meatloaf and did soft tissue work and iced my knees. I still need to do some thinking and tinkering with my programming.

March 4, 2021 – Week 3, Day 2

2 Minute Treadmill Backwards Pushes
 
Mobility Prep
 
Front Squats
45x10
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x5
235x5
245x5
260x5
270x5
 
20” Jack Stand Pulls
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x1
495x1
Added Straps
585x1
655x1

3” Platform Stiff-legged Deadlifts (straps)
155x8
155x8
155x8

Ab Wheel
bwx9
bwx9
bwx1

Comments: So the short of it is that I realized my deadlift plan won’t work with the current plan going forward. This is frustrating and it really threw me for a loop. I’ll get to that. Very close to pulling plug on this stuff again. So anyways, on to training. Left trap still feeling tense. I may need to drop some of the external rotation stuff as it might be aggravating things. Too much stuff. Warming up felt fine. This was going to be a little different since the past two weeks, I’ve had the squat rack inside due to weather. Back outside. Front squats again. Really windy and some snow flurries at the start. Testing out not having the knee brace and that seemed to be ok. Front squats were feeling pretty darn good. Making me think that perhaps the off feeling from the frame carries and the strict presses was just that, an off feeling. Then it was time for rack pulls. So plan here was doing 2” lower than last time. I figured that be ok here but just didn’t feel like I had the power today. Like, last time I did the rack pulls, I felt like I could break the belt off with how hard I was able to brace. Felt like I did nothing with that and wasn’t getting anything to get these weights to break off the ground. I was really not expecting 655lbs to be a max effort here. I was hoping to get 705lbs which seemed reasonable with things. But that wasn’t happening. This almost felt as hard as that week where 550lbs took my back out. So I was worried. 2” drop shouldn’t have resulted in essentially 100lbs off of the lift. I didn’t get injured but I wasn’t happy as I knew this meant that this wasn’t going to work as a plan. Something wasn’t working the way it was supposed to. I did my best to push on but I was feeling that nagging feeling that this was pointless. That I was never going to be strong how I want to be. Stiffleggeds after that. It was a pain putting all those weights away. This weight is still really light and I was just thinking about how my lower back felt so stiff and spasmed on me on that first week. I did these no problem. Ab wheel was next. Plan was 3x9. I didn’t end up doing that. The reps felt harder than they had two weeks ago. I was realizing I wasn’t having fun this workout and hadn’t had fun the previous workout. I ended up rage quitting the workout after a single rep on that last set of ab wheel. Chucked it at the garage door. Felt there was no point in doing this other stuff if the rack pull plan wasn’t working. Didn’t bother stretching. The roast came out terrible. Must’ve been the cut of meat as it was chewy and I ended up having to pitch about a third of it. Just wanted to get the day done with. Hopefully I can calm down and think things through. But hopefully that doesn’t take too long.

March 2, 2021 – Week 3, Day 1

2 Minute Treadmill Backwards Pushes
 
Mobility Prep
 
Axle Strict Presses
30x10
80x5
120x3
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x9/1/1 (rest pause)

Rack Chins (yoke, straps)
bwx10
bwx10
bwx10
bwx10
bwx10

12” Log Incline Bench Presses
87x5
132x3
177x3
207x3
232x12

Paused Band Face Pulls (1 count)
µbx12
µbx12
 
Overhead Dicks Presses
100x8
100x8
100x8

Paused Band External Rotations
µbx10/10

Active Bar Hang (thick bar)
bw for 30 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: Day didn’t start off great. My stomach woke me up at like 4:30AM. Very worried that dinner was coming back up. Must have been too fatty a cut of meat and not cooked off enough of it. Eventually I was able to fall back asleep and the stomach issue eventually went away during the work day. I was having doubts about training. Suffice it to say that wind was knocked out of my sails a little bit with the frame carry stuff. Again, have to see how it goes next time and that’s all I can really do. This week was going to be more an indicator on things to come then last time. Despite some things not being ready to work, that was a essentially a fully rested me despite knee issues. This would be a session with fatigue from the week before and would have to see how that would add to things that hopefully would improve from last time. Warm ups felt ok. Shoulders seemed a bit stiffer on the shoulder stuff with the kettlebells. Left trap was feeling really tight. Didn’t wear knee brace today, trying to see if just a thin sleeve is enough. Wore warm-ups for my legs as it wasn’t too bad out but enough that I really wanted to wear gloves but couldn’t for the first bit. Axle pressing again. 10lbs more than last time for the top weight. Same thing of rest pause style. I think part of my worry was if this made sense. Last session with log that all felt good and planned. Who knows. I may just be finding things to worry about. But I do need to keep track of things. Making notes for each day and week on my training planner so that I have an easy reference. This training log is ok but I tend to get verbose and it can be tricky to track down a specific session. So axle today was confusing to me. Started off good. I kind of realized I didn’t really need to walk out the weight like I was doing last time. Same warm-ups up to big red rubber plates and then did 20lbs for singles. These felt really good. I was thinking that I may not drop many reps on my top set. And it seemed good for like the first 2-3 reps but then I just felt like there was no power. I didn’t feel like I had balance issues like last time but five reps was feeling tough. Went for 10 reps but it hit a sticking point (mainly because it got out in front of me from bad form and trying to get a bump off the chest) so stopped there. Managed to grind out a single on each of the next sets then. I was better with keeping to the 20 seconds this time (not having to worry about rewrapping wrist wraps). So, even though this good for me with axle strict pressing since coming back from 2016 injury and being better than what I did with barbell at this weight back in 2014 when I first did this kind of training, still annoyed I didn’t do more reps or that it didn’t feel that good. Especially with how the warm-ups were going. Things I think about are if the recovery work has been too aggressive with the pinpoint massager or if the stomach issues sapped my strength. Just have to see how things go and if any issues arise in subsequent workouts. It can be daunting to do this on my own. From there, inside for back work. I had the chance to put on gloves to warm my hands back up. So I know I said that I’d just be doing bodyweight and bands but I may add some weight to bodyweight I think. So I was going to go up 1 rep (5x8 and then 5x9) across all sets but with how ring rows felt last week, I could probably afford to bump these up a bit more. So did sets of 10 here. This actually felt more routine then last time haha. So back outside in the cold for incline log bench press. Mixed feelings. So part of me was thinking my shoulders didn’t feel so beat like last time but also thinking how they didn’t feel as powerful as last time. 5lbs more weight added. Honestly, I was fully ready for getting like 5 reps on this for the top weight. I banged the rack on two sets. I think I had it too far in. Then my chest felt awake for like the first time of the evening on the top set so I felt confident I could get close to last week’s reps. Ended up getting 12 and stalling at lockout on number 13. Still double digits and more reps then I’d probably hit doing push presses with the log. I hope though that this trend of reps dropping doesn’t continue this drastic with every 5lbs added or I might not be really hitting any PRs at heavier weights, which has been my hope with these high reps going up. Band face pulls after that. I suppose that I could’ve gone right into the overhead dicks presses but I figured I’d give these another shot with adjustments. I think the extended holds, the 3 sets and pulling straight across made them not so good for me. Dropped a set, crossed the bands so pulling in the right way, decreased hold time in half and did a few more reps per set. This might work. Have to monitor each session and afterwards. Overhead dicks presses were good. Left shoulder a little achy but the weight felt easier than 95lbs did last time. Kind of to be expected doing them after so long. Lowered the band tension on the paused external rotations. Left shoulder seemed to appreciate it. Right shoulder doesn’t care what band tension. I’m curious why the one shoulder feels like crap doing these. Active bar hang to finish up the night. Ankle mobility does seem to be showing results for me with the stretching. Iced knees before bed.