Wednesday, August 10, 2022

August 9, 2022 – Week 1, Day 1

Patrick Stepdowns (6”)/Band Y Raises
bwx15/15 – µb’sx15
bwx15/15 – µb’sx15
 
Axle Clean and Push Presses (clean every rep)
50x24

Paused Kettlebell Windmills (3 seconds)/Single Leg Trap Bar Romanian Deadlifts
15x8/8 – 55x8/8
15x8/8 – 55x8/8
15x8/8 – 55x8/8

Alternating Band Rows/Cossack Squats
mmb’sx15/15 – bwx10/10
mmb’sx15/15 – bwx10/10

Stretching
 
Comments:  So back to it. No real rest. Can’t dwell on last performance much. I did the thing I needed to do so I can do this next thing. But as is often the case with me, the happiness and pride in a job done well enough or anything I accomplish is fleeting. I see flaws in what I did. I could’ve done better. This allows me to keep going when others quit but it leaves me with a hollow feeling and a sugar high that crashes even within the same day. Ideally, I would’ve been working up to Nationals over this summer break but that isn’t the reality I’m in. Not the reality everyone gets to be in. Goal is simple; compete. Stretch goals being no zeros, set PRs, do well enough to qualify for the Amateur Arnold again. If not, then off season or find a show to get qualified for regionals for 2024 (already set for 2023). 2023 being regionals focused. So this technically isn’t the first workout back. I did some Monday with getting an option to do some walking, treadmill, stationary bike or sled drag and I went with sled drags for 20 minutes with 105lbs as that seemed funnier to do. This workout was a recovery workout. Honestly, not as intense as sometimes the first workout would be. This had been made on the assumption I was winning Saturday. I decided to treat this like the workouts leading up to the show on the week of where I did no support stuff and didn’t drink 3 liters of BCAAs (just a big glass at the end). Still dealing with heat. It was hot and a thunderstorm rolled in really quick and fast. It was actually raining when I started but it was so hot that rain drops were evaporating as soon as they hit the ground. Starting things off with Patrick stepdowns and band y raises. No holds or tempo or anything. It was listed to use 4” for the step but I don’t have that right on hand really and I figured I’d rather use the 6” foam as that seemed to work well (I actually did some of these as warming up at the show since they had the same pad). Y band raises felt fine too. Thankfully not too sore from the show but there are certainly things that are. From there it was on to axle. We have to make up. I had sent a lengthy document of thoughts to Drew indicating issues, thoughts and past training cycles to try and gleam any information to get this to work for me. The plan here was just form work. Weight being 25-85lbs and reps anywhere from 15-30. More for lighter. Pausing and breaks as needed to get things feeling right. I had ordered a new grip shirt as the one I’ve been using is the earliest model and isn’t “legal” on its own at SC Nats (I’d have to wear it under a shirt) and they’ve advanced these a good bit. It is heavy and I felt this would be a test for me to see if it was worth it. This is the time to test. Some people will say to train “naked” as much as possible but sometimes that can be detrimental if form is vastly different with stuff on. I set things here with 50lbs so axle with some fractional plates and the 10lbs bumpers. I was planning on doing 8x3 or something more structured. Weight felt light and no issues with discomfort in anything. I was kind of worried about the arms. I just kind of kept going which resulted in me doing clean and presses with the light weight for about 4 minutes straight. Trying to get that power to feel strong on the catch and rack as well as the pop. The pressing was feeling effortless. From there into the garage for another superset. This time it was windmills and single leg rdls. Windmills with pauses and the rdls not specified but I wanted to try using my trap bar rather than deal with kettlebells, dumbbells or barbells. Windmills with pauses were different. A little tight at the start but felt fine and natural as I went. And more tightness in the legs and hips rather than the shoulders or core. The trap bar single leg rdls felt great. I’ve done them before with a bit more weight and low reps but a smaller bar and that can be tricky. This one is good bit wider and longer so no issues with the lifted leg hitting anything. Unlike the first superset, I did take breaks between the sets. Last thing was bit odd as far as pairing go. One part was this alternating band rowing that I’m assuming is to work on mobility for arm-over-arm pull and the other was Cossack squats. My knees have gotten crankier the older I get and more I do things like this. This was the only thing for the workout that wasn’t going to be the projected RPE of 4-5. These are usually for less reps. I wanted to get through this workout without having to resort to sleeves and such. The row part was super easy. I probably could’ve done more tension but I wasn’t sure for that many reps. The Cossack squats were as I expected. Left side took a little to warm up to feel comfortable getting down and the right side my knee was achy. They felt better and went smoother the second round but these were the most tiring and effort inducing things of the session. I got immediate soreness in my inner thighs after I was done. Put stuff away and stretched while waiting for pot roast to finish. Real workouts start soon.


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