January 30, 2023 – Week 15, Day 1

Paused Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (3 stages)
3 seconds, clean once, 1 push press + 2 jerks
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
2 seconds, clean every rep, jerks
26x3 R
26x3 L

Axle Push Presses w/ bands (+22lbs bottom/+40lbs top)
No Bands
46x3
Added Bands
46x3
76x3
106x3
136x3
166x3
166x3
166x3
169x3
172x3

Paused Band Assisted Pull Ups (1 second)
(pin 24)
abx8
(pin 18)
sbx10

Split Stance Band Paloff Presses (10 second holds)
mmbx4/4
mmbx4/4

Lying Band Triceps Extensions (3 second holds)
µbx15
mbx10
mmbx5
lbx15
lbx15

Stretching
 
Comments: With a consolidation of stressors, it kind of has become with this prep that one week is stressful and the other isn’t. One week where it is stuff definitely withing my capabilities and then the other week being the one where I’m pushing and testing things. Just noticing that that seems to be the case as it stands right now with allowing for things to get the rest and focus they need. Probably with how half the events being in my wheelhouse and the weights and efforts required being quite manageable the other half required effort on my part and anxiousness. Another observation is that what I’m doing for the elbow seems to finally be working, at least cosmetically. Still hesitancy and aches but the swelling of the bursitis has really gone down. Not sure if it is the meds really as I noticed it going down the most over the weekend and I had forgotten to take a dose before heading out to train. Been smarter with the ACE bandage wrappings and adjusting during the day. I don’t need the gauze to pad my elbow when working anymore either. So that is good news I guess. So this workout was a mixing of the start from two weeks ago, stuff from last week and new stuff. First part of the day was form/skill with what is essentially the empty dumbbell handle. Same thing as far as 4-5 sets of 3 reps. Last time I had done clean every rep with 3 phase pauses of 2 seconds. I had decided to work on things a little differently as far as what things I felt needed it. So one was wearing the knee sleeves as I mentioned I probably should’ve done two weeks ago when I did these to help my joints recover. I had asked Drew about implementing jerks for the dumbbell. This isn’t like with axle where there was a sense of urgency/desperation (I mean a little bit now that 5 weeks out) because I’ve done push press for building up and off season with circus dumbbell and then do jerks. Wasn’t able to do that really last time with the elbow fracture and other stresses. So indication was to do a complex of push press and then jerk(s). So I decided to do the first four sets of this workout as 3 second pauses at the 3 phases and only do one clean. Push press the first rep and then jerks the other two reps. Light enough to control the weight back to the shoulder without it slamming into my shoulder. Left elbow felt tight and achy initially in the rack position for the drive but it felt fine after that first set. There was some slight discomfort in trying to control lowering the weight. For the last set, I felt like I wanted to have things flow from one thing to the next so I did 2 second pauses like last time for the phases and did clean every rep. But did jerks every rep rather than push presses. Feeling decent with these. Then it was on to axle push press against bands. Plan here was to try to do 10-15lbs more than last time for 5x3 but dictate it based on speed of movement and keeping these moving fast. So more weight and one less set with slightly longer rests here. I wasn’t too sure how these would go as sometimes these feel terrible. I did a set without bands it moved really smooth and fast and then added the bands it felt hard at lockout lol. Took a few sets to get my shoulders, elbows and upper back feeling good. I felt that I’d increase weight during the sets if I felt good. My hope was that with my knees feeling better that I’d feel better on these as well. I’m happy these were moving like they should. I went up 3lbs after the first three sets and then again for the last set. Maybe we got the recovery thing figured out for my upper body to put forth the effort that has been hidden by fatigue. I’ve not felt good about axle really since April last year and this was I think the first session in a long while I didn’t hate it. Starting to enjoy it again I guess and that’s always important. Having belief and hope that it will be better and improve. Moved on to band assisted pull-ups. This was a bit different even from the change from last week. Same idea as last time with a lower rep hard set and second set at lesser intensity with more RIR left. The hold was decreased to 1 second and rep range was 5-8 with 1-2RIR. I couldn’t lower the band pins any lower and it would be too easy since I did 2 second holds with this band last week with the same RIR. So this meant lowering the band tension from the strong band to the average band. Back to having elbows feeling the holds with less assistance. I’m just glad my abs aren’t feeling sore like they did last week doing these from stones and ab wheel. The second set was more th same as last time but reduced reps as well. Back to using the strong band. I may have used too much assistance assuming how tough things would be. I probably could’ve lowered the pins 1-2 and been closer to the effort but this was still good. It felt a little weird swapping back in the strong band after the average band. Into the garage to finish up the workout with more band stuff. Split stance paloff pressing again. Same as last week with 2x4 with 10 second holds. These seemed to be just as challenging as last week. Usually I feel like I adapt to stuff pretty quick. Not the case here. This was tough on the midsection and lower body but I was also feeling the shoulders and upper body this time around here. Maybe I was slightly further away from where I was before with the anchor point and tension? Oh well. It was work and effort and that was what was needed. Last thing was lying triceps extensions. No free weights this time. I think that was needed as the left elbow hasn’t been a fan of them since the bursitis stuff started really. And definitely not since getting it drained again. So this time it was using bands with holds. I was advised to do a lot of warming up to get the feel for this and get it right. That was good advice as I would’ve probably have jumped in with a band that was too light thinking it would be too much. The ROM on these and the strength curve felt nice on the elbows. Had some issues with my shoulder flexibility and my hair getting in the way trying to get the band secure under the bench for these. Especially the second set. Put stuff away and ate a roast with a pizza. Stretched and iced knees before bed.

January 28, 2023 – Week 14, Day 4

Hip Airplanes (0-10-0-10 tempo)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Paused Cossack Squats (5 seconds)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Safety Squat Bar Squats w/ bands (+28lbs/+58lbs)
No Bands
65x3
Add Bands
65x3
115x3
155x3
205x3
245x3
295x3
350x3
315x3

Paused Stone of Steel Roll-ups (2 seconds, full squat, tacky towel)
140x2
175x2
209x2
244x4
244x4
244x4

Husafell Carries (taken from 20” box, turns at 50’)
Staggered Grip
150x100’
225x100’
300x200’
300x200’

Hercules Holds (hook grip)
230x10 seconds
340x34 seconds
280x74 seconds

Comments: With what was planned, I had intended to get out to train a little earlier but found that I needed the extra sleep of sleeping in an hour. I took the accidentally walking and training on the same day and spent Friday working through my lunch (mostly) to try and get work done to not feel so far behind. I felt I wasn’t able to concentrate during the many hours that the tree service stuff was going on around my house. Drive out thankfully wasn’t bad like last week. I think this might be a first as far as this training cycle with the contest prep in full swing where I didn’t feel “nervous” about something. Everything felt within my capabilities without any hype I guess. Even though I was about an hour behind schedule, there was still a good bit of people there. Rather than the copper sleeve, I just stuck with the ACE bandage wrap as the copper sleeve is too loose and keeps sliding down unless I tape it to my upper arm. The usual warming up with off with hip airplanes and Cossack squats with the pauses and holds. These have gotten to be a good bit easier for me. Previously with the hip airplanes, I needed to take a rest between sets and sides due to how taxing these were for my lower legs to balance. Now I can hold a conversation, not need rest and get distracted and miscount how long I’m in a hold or what rep I’m on.  Cossack squats again felt better than last week which had already felt better than the previous week. I’m thinking the addition of the knees over toes stuff and deep squat holds in the previous workout might have something to do with that as that is really the only change that has been made recently. Good enough that there isn’t a hesitancy like before expecting the dull ache in the left knee. Feeling like I’m doing more than just sitting down there and getting the hips, knees, ankles and hamstrings feeling good. Then it was on to the stuff requiring weights. So this will be the heavier week for the squats with the ssb. Kind of surprised the change made from the rep sets but not complaining. So plan would seem to be heavy triples and progressing on the heavy week and speed work with pauses the lighter week. Both with bands it would seem. So plan was to work up to a top triple with 2RIR or so using the same bands I used for the paused speed work last week. Work up in 2-3 rep sets and then take off 10% for another triple. I had decided to work up in triples the entire time this week. I was initially thinking 295lbs but figured that 335lbs was probably more likely. So working up in 40-50lbs jumps with the triples and things were feeling decent. I got to 295lbs and that felt fine enough. As mentioned, I was thinking 335lbs for this but I thought that might be calling it short and thought 345lbs. Then I just added 5lbs to that for 350lbs as that would be easier math for the down set. Little heavier than I was expecting it to be but the reps were strong enough and within the parameters for the proposed RPE (goal I believe is to be able to progress 10-20lbs each session). Down set felt fine. Feels heavy but moved fast. So squats done and then moving onto the event specific things for the day. Ditched the ACE bandage wrap at this point as it would impact/get in the way on the rest of what I was doing. Stone roll ups again. The light week. I’m sticking with the stone of steel and tacky towel for these because less clean up and I’m using lighter weight that I can actually adjust to be small increases vs dealing with big jumps on the stones with a lot of dust/grime. For this time around was to do them either 4x3 or 3x4 with 1-2ct holds at extension rather than just a brief hold like last time. I did the same jumps as last time doing doubles and snuck in a 2.5lbs plate for the top weight. I felt that the holds would add significant difficulty to what I was doing last time. After the first two working up sets, I ditched the shirt I had on and just did bare skin. I had thought it would be a good shirt to use but the fabric was too slick and stretchy (despite having a decal). As was the case last time, the first set felt the worst and then got a lot better on the following reps. Mostly just the breathing and the intraabdominal pressure of the movement. I had to take a little breather at the bottom of each rep that first set to get my head to clear before going again. The extensions are feeling good though and controlled. Husafell carries after that. I was a little surprised with some of this. I guess you could say I was a little surprised for the inclusion of both this and the last item for the session due to how things went last time and my proficiency. For the husafell, I’ve felt this is a light weight for this and that I probably only needed to stick to 80-90% contest to work on being ready for a long time of walking and last time I went further than I was expecting with 90% contest considering the work up to it. So part of my thinking after that and seeing where I was and what “gave” on that set had lead to thinking about working on either getting better and the hold but still have it be taxing or working on multiple sets of submaximal distances with shorter rests to get used to fatigue but also trying to move faster. Sounds like Drew took both ideas to heart with the sled drag and bag hold last week and what was setup for today. So this was to do contest weight for 2x200’ with 2 minutes rest. I feel that at this point, the only thing that needs some testing/work is the initial pick up because it does require some maneuvering of the implement to secure the staggered grip. Off the box for now to just save the lower back and work the carry. So I was somewhat expecting this but not at contest weight. But again, contest weight is relatively light. First set was smooth. I rushed rest (was more like 90 seconds rest) so there was fatigue for that one and it was definitely requiring more effort to finish out that one. Still felt like I had a 50’ length in me on that last run even with the fatigue. So still in a good place here. Last thing was Hercules holds. I was a also surprised this showed up again. One training cycle it was every other week and another it only showed up once when this was contested. Getting things coordinated last time was a pain in the butt and that was with people I knew and did this kind of stuff haha. This had been really the only reason to try and get out to train earlier was to try and secure assistance. I asked if two people would be staying any later to assist and they couldn’t due to having plans or already being at the gym for many hours at this point. So I set things up but was prepared to just do general grip work for this if need be. George indicated he’d help but I knew I needed more since he just had his biceps reattached last week. Thankfully, he was able to recruit assistance of the other three people in the gym (we decided after the warm up that it was better to have 4 people spotting/assisting). The plan for the day was more weight than last time for the 30 seconds hold (still RPE 8 or so) and then to beat my time from last time that I had soft set with the contest weight. As expected, there were issues with getting the weight released and such which led to some pre-exhaustion on my part to maintain balance (big reason I wear knee sleeves on these now). Accidentally did 4 seconds extra on the heavy set because of reasons lol. The contest weight set I went very close to failure. I maybe had 3 seconds left in me when I let go. So very close to 75 seconds on this. I was very thankful for everyone that helped me with the Hercules hold and put stuff away before drinking a protein shake and stretching. Drive home was good until got to second to last exit and there was a traffic incident so I had to take a detour around it.

January 26, 2023 – Week 14, Day 3

Band Assisted Thread The Needles
mbx10/10
mbx10/10

Swiss Bar Bench Presses
45x3
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x4
235x10

Paused Inverted Ring Rows (2 seconds)
bw+20x12 PR+2 reps
bw+20x12

Single Arm Dumbbell Y Raises on Incline Bench (Iso Hold)
10’sx12/12
10’sx12/12

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (followed by 30 seconds stretch)
mmb+µbx15/15
mmb+µbx15/15

Knees Over Toes Calf Raises (3 seconds stretch)/Deep Squat Holds
bwx15/bwx45 seconds
bwx15/bwx45 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: I must have been very distracted today. Work stuff and then a lot of interruptions and noise with tree services going through the neighborhood doing maintenance of vegetation around the powerlines. It was so loud at times I couldn’t hear myself think. More suckers didn’t really check my backyard that thoroughly before they brought and had move the yoke I got setup back there for keg toss that is like 220lbs. In either case, whether feeling beat from yesterday’s workout or all the things going on I was trying to take care of, I got wires crossed and went for a walk on my lunch and then realized that I don’t do that on my days were I lift. Oh well. Extra walk day I guess (unless I decide to make up for the time lost with work). I think I was commenting to myself how my hamstrings were feeling pretty toasty from the day before when I realized my mistake. This was to be the easiest workout of the week by design. Last time, it was after a lower effort session for the lower body as well as the first session in the week. Also first time doing upper body stuff after the what I feel was a botched elbow draining situation. It had felt surprisingly fine last week but I knew things weren’t as “rested” this time around. It was about the same as last week though. So first thing was the “thread the needles”. I lowered the band tension a lot and put down a thin foam mat so my knees weren’t bothered by the hard concrete floor. Was feeling some aches in the elbows today and some shoulder soreness. Again, suit work and shrugs weren’t what I did last time, nor did I do heavy circus dumbbell. Not really sure if these are doing much for me besides the upper body rotational aspect. Next thing was swiss bar benching. Notes are that will be alternating between paused and not paused. So just regular this week. Work up in triples to a top set of 8-10 reps with 2-3RIR. I had expectations of myself that were erroneous considering how long it has been from me really benching besides incline and lighter weights. Also assuming that there is a big difference between paused and not paused for me on pressing. Not so much at the chest, more so if done where stuff is about to take over. Nothing as drastic as say rowing and similar. I had felt that based off what I’ve done before with a barbell that 275lbs was doable. And I was wrong. Wrists and elbows were feeling achy compared to last week. Unracking wasn’t feeling quite like last week. 275lbs felt heavy but the first three reps seemed to go fine but then the fourth didn’t and I racked it there. I had to adjust things. I wanted to not put myself in a hole (didn’t miss any lifts and left reps in the tank) and do a more appropriate weight for the proposed set. Took off 40lbs (I was trying to rationalize 245lbs but knew that was too much really after that set). 235lbs ended up working with only the last rep feeling a little off with the locking out. So unlike stones, I guess benching doesn’t come back quick for me. I was admittedly annoyed with myself but need to remember that this isn’t the thing I’m contested on at this time and need to be smart with getting in quality work and not burning out. Still feeling sore in the shoulders (not painful, just like they’d done work). Up next was the inverted ring rows. Notes suggest that these will be phased out after another week of them. Starting to feel good. So plan again was 2 sets no more than RPE 7. 1-2ct holds and aim being 8-12 reps per set. So would seem suggestion would be more weight. I decided to go with 5lbs more and see about getting 12 reps with that with some in the tank. That seemed to go well enough. Again, feeling soreness in the shoulders/traps/upper back. More so the left side. Don’t think it is anything to be concerned about as it is likely just from the demands of the week and each week it is more and more. The rest of the workout was essentially unchanged from last week. So Iso Y raises were next. 2x10-12 again. I think I was ready for it to suck with going 2x12 on these. Bracing harder and not just passively. I think that cue helped me get through these better this time. Still exhausting. Mobility stuff to end the session really. Overhead single arm stuff with anchor point being around my knee again. Do a set of 10-15 reps and then hold the stretch for 30 seconds with deep nasal breathing for stretch in lats and tris. I decided to increase the band tension slightly. Elbows had been achy today so maybe I stay here or go back down. I think I was looking more for the stretch to be more this time around. I shorted my counting to get it to be closer to 30 seconds vs the 40 seconds it ended up being last time. I was closer this time around. Seeing as how both elbows were feeling the aches today (left more so) that may just be something rather than my left being explicitly related to the bursitis. Last thing was ankle mobility tied in with calf work with option to superset with hip mobility stuff. So knees over toes again. Suggestion was to use a raised platform for these to try and get more a stretch. Maybe it helped me think I could go further. I really tried to do these with my knees bent and over the toes. Maybe this was better or maybe this was worse. As has been the case, the right side is a ton tighter than the left on these. Knees didn’t seem to ache as much compared to last week. Hips felt fine doing the deep squat holds. Again, knees felt pretty good here. Cooked up dinner and put stuff away. Stretched and iced knees before bed.

January 25, 2023 – Week 14, Day 2

Warm Up Circuit

Suited Trap Bar Deadlifts (15”, straps)
No Suit
140x3
230x3
320x3
Added Suit
410x2
480x2
550x2
625x3
625x3
625x3
575x12

Hatfield Bulgarian FFE Split Squats (2”)
65x3/3
115x3/3
155x3/3
205x3/3
245x8/8
245x8/8

Single Leg Seated Band Hamstring Curls (explosive reps, full ROM)
lbx20/20
lbx20/20
lbx20/20

Paused Titan Fitness Frame Shrugs (finger tips, 2 seconds)
205x5
255x5
Cluster Reps (15 seconds)
295x15+12/3 (7 seconds to finish last set)

Stretching
 
Comments: Woke up and joints were a little achy and stiff. Maybe from the weather with the snow coming through. Could be that just feeling all the work from the Monday training and getting under heavy circus dumbbell. The right knee was what I was most concerned with but luckily it seemed to feel better as the day went on. Possibly from me pacing a lot during work and getting some blood flow haha. So this session started off much the same as the lower body session with deadlifts has. Again, warming up wasn’t specified but I did the same stuff I’ve done with slight modification because not really able to put pressure on the elbow. And then it was trap bar again. Heavy week. Integrate the suit. Plan for the session was to work up to 625lbs for 3x3 and note RIR on that last set and then take off 50lbs and do a rep set with that leaving 2-3RIR (stop before I feel like I’d have a grinding lift). We don’t know what the weight in hand is going to be for the car deadlift yet but last time they did it a few years ago it was about 645lbs so that is good place I feel to get an idea of what to expect. But need to work somewhat heavy and reps. Suit work for reps is definitely different. Sometimes the suit can be determinantal when it is a lighter weight for time. Now that I think on it, this might be the first time I’m getting to do a car deadlift and have a suit for it. Figures I got one pretty much the year after SC stopped using the event and really allowing suits in the big shows. Oh well. It has been since August that I’ve used the suit. There does feel like a break in period usually but figured that there was less issues with it being side handled lift and I was right. The suit didn’t feel substantial to me as single ply compared to the dual ply briefs I had gotten. I can only imagine how taxing a suit of that material would be. Getting the suit to sit right definitely took a little bit. Also trying to be mindful of the bursitis and not get the suit strap caught on that getting it up to the shoulder. I was initially worried that I wasn’t going to get enough out of the suit with how it was sitting, even with the three pairs of spandex briefs. My leg composition and size aren’t consistent. But it does enough. I also have to remember that the suit doesn’t make the weight lighter, just moves it better. Tried to do these working weights low key style as this shouldn’t be something crazy with the suit. First set I felt like I had +5RIR. The second set it wasn’t feeling as strong and had less than 5RIR. I decided to change the order of the briefs (one is Under Armor and the other two are Cadmus) to see if that changed things at all as far as the legs riding up. Maybe it did or could just be me thinking that last set best set as it felt the easiest and smoothest of the sets. Then it was time for the rep set after taking off 50lbs. I was feeling like I had to get at least 12 reps here to really be getting things right. I got a little more excited for this one and got music that would cue me in for repping and fast. Things started off well but I could tell that I needed to slow down to keep my breathing. I kept feeling like I could do another rep and did that for like the last 4 reps of the set and stopped at 12 reps. I feel 3 more reps was definitely there. 12 reps in under 30 seconds so I still had plenty of time to pace things out. I’ll see where I’m at more top end with this setup and suit tension to see if this is what I’m going for. But this might be the suit tightness I use for the show if it is about the same weight as last time this was contested. Ready for whatever. Goal is to not lose many points here at show. I feel confident in getting 2nd place but 1st might be a bridge too far considering who will be doing this show. I won’t chase them if it is some ridiculous number and terribly fatiguing as this show has key events for me that are posterior chain intensive. But happy with how this went. I feel I need to do reps with 650lbs at minimum and preferably 700lbs to be on the safe side for the upper end. From there it was on to front foot elevated Bulgarian split squat hatfields. Plan for the session was to do 2x8 with expectation to do a top set of 10-12 next time (though that appears to have changed). I was initially thinking I’d go for broke and do 245lbs on these which would be 20lbs jump from last week. As I got closer to this session, I wondered if that was too aggressive. And then I was kind of worn from the rep set on the deadlifts but decided I’d warm up how I was planning to and if I felt ok, I’d go for it. If not, 10lbs under that goal. I was surprised that this ended being the session of these with the least amount of knee discomfort I’ve had. This was also probably the closest I’ve gotten to the suggested RPE. I feel like I said that last time. These have been good and I know that these will be switched out soon. Next up was single leg curls with bands. Same as last week with them being seated and done explosively with full ROM. These had crept up on me as far as fatigue last time I did them. I was a bit more prepared for it this time. Same band tension and goal of 3x20 on these. This time there didn’t feel like a discrepancy between the sides. Both felt equally fatigued this time haha. I’m glad I was able to get 3x20 this time around. I may need to up the band tension next time and just am for the lower rep range with that increase to make sure I’m getting full ROM on these again. Last thing was those damn fingertip frame shrugs with second holds. Last time it had been 30 reps total doing cluster sets of 10 reps and then rest 15 seconds (10 seconds wasn’t enough time). So to progress, the plan here was to do 2 sets of 15 reps with one 15 second break. Warmed up the same as last time and used the same weight (indication was to use between 285-305lbs and 295lbs was just a plate on each corner). So I was successful for the first set but I knew I had my work cut out for me on the second set. The thing is that it’s not like an improvement throughout with the shrug. I do a higher shrug when less fatigued and that saps more energy so still very challenging after only a few reps. I got to work for that second set and I knew I was fading. I ended up having to set it down with 3 reps to go. Took me 7 seconds to recover enough to finish out the set. Annoyed I couldn’t get it done in two complete sets but oh well. I also did a lot more heavy pulls compared to last time these were in the workout. Put stuff away and ate a roast for dinner. Stretched out and iced my knees before bed.

January 23, 2023 – Week 14, Day 1

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
60x1/1
70x1/1
80x1/1
90x1/1
100x1/1
110x1 L
120x1 L
130x1 L
140x1 L
EMOM
152x1 L
152x1 L
152x1 L
152x1 L
152x3 L
110x1 R
120x1 R
EMOM
135x1 R
135x1 R
135x1 R
135x1 R
135x3 R

Behind the Neck Strict Presses (3 second eccentrics)
65x3
95x3
125x3
155x6
155x6

Paused Band Assisted Pull Ups (2 seconds)
(pin 24)
sbx8
(pin 16)
sbx11

Split Stance Band Paloff Presses (10 second holds)
mmbx4/4
mmbx4/4

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
26’sx10
46’sx10
63’sx12
48’sx20

Stretching
 
Comments: So I was nervous going into this workout. That really does seem to be a common refrain of mine as we continue to push forward. Trepidation really. Having felt disappointment and failure. Sometimes it’s not even that I can’t do it but that I won’t do it with it being easy enough and allowing for me to have someplace to continue to progress and peak for when it matters. Hopefully as I continue to tick off the boxes so to speak of things this will become less an issue and it will be more just nerves for displaying it when it matters. What was of concern for this workout was circus dumbbell. It was kind of time to see if the changes had been worthwhile or for naught. First two weeks of pushing the circus dumbbell had gone well and then the third week it was terrible. I felt it was too much that I wasn’t recovering like I was when the weights were below 100lbs. So dropping volume and frequency. I didn’t feel that confident with things last week with switching to just doing circus dumbbell as form work and then axle push press with bands. Granted it wasn’t feeling super-duper awesome that week, it wasn’t where I was so bad that tossed the weights off the rack like I did leading up to Nationals last year. Thursday’s workout last week had felt like a nice break from things. But I was still not sure if I made the right call here and that maybe it was just my body not recovering from the heavy squats and stones Saturday. And I had done a lot more stone lifting this time around and it was heavier. And I was also not 100% sure about the elbow after the absolute buggery that was done to it draining it last week. The plan for this was to work up to a comfortable weight in singles taking 7.5-10% jumps to this weight and do five EMOM sets with it. The first four being singles and then the last one to be 1-3 reps depending on how I felt, as long as I left 1-2RIR and/or form didn’t break down. Also taking a moment back just to think on how to approach things, I made some adjustments. One was wearing the knee sleeves. I’ve not worn them in the past but I’m finding that even if I think I can “shut it off” when it comes to any kind of discomfort, it will be there and subconsciously limit how much I feel I can drive my lower body into the weight. The other was not lowering the dumbbell back to my shoulder. While this is a my preferred style with being quick and keep hold of dumbbell for staying stationary and reclean, I found it didn’t work for me two weeks ago and was throwing me off balance. Additionally, letting the dumbbell just fall to the floor cuts down on the amount of contacts of the weight “slamming” onto my shoulders. Which could help with recovery not having that. At least until I feel comfortable again. Had to temper expectations as I see the people I’m to be competing against looking to be ahead of me on this event. Like the first week, I decided to work up in 10lbs jumps. Things seemed to be feeling good. No wrist pain in the right wrist. Stuff was feeling mostly like it should. I gave myself a moment with the 130lbs to adjust as there is still not a seamless transition from the plateloaded to that. 140lbs went up decently and I felt that 150lbs would be shortchanging myself but didn’t feel like 160lbs was the way to go just yet. So added 12lbs and hoped I didn’t screw things up. That first single went up smooth and perfect and I felt that all was right with the world. There was certainly some fatigue being noticed on the subsequent reps (biceps were feeling stones). Put I felt like I could’ve repeated what I had done two weeks ago as far as the EMOM with this weight. Had a little issue with getting the dumbbell racked on the first rep on that last set. If I was following the form aspect, I would’ve stopped there but I got better each rep. Quite happy that I’ve got back to where I feel I was at the start of this and not lost much ground. Back on track is where I want to be. With the right side, same thing but I cleaned the 130lbs and it felt fine and figured that I should try 135lbs for the sets. That first rep with the actual bell does feel a little off. There is definitely fatigue in the arms for the clean from the stone work. Noticing less knee discomfort when on the left side vs the right. Just with how I have to balance and which leg takes the burnt of it. I know the right knee has more issues compared to the left. Same as the left side, I had issues with the position of the dumbbell on the rep set with the right. Eventually it clicked for me that the other side can be active. There is a lot of things to be thinking about with circus dumbbell but it is not just a one arm press. Once I started using the other arm to kind of “slap” the dumbbell into position, it was feeling really easy. Need to keep being a student of the sport and improve. But I was allowed this momentary feeling of relief. From there it was the behind the neck strict presses. Same thing as far as 3 second eccentrics but now 2x6-8. RPE was indicating a range of 7-8. I was going to do 135lbs and aim for 2x8 but I guess feeling good about the circus dumbbell, I just added 20lbs to my sets with the goal of doing 155lbs for 2x6. I’ve done light weight on these for a lot of reps with different tempos but I feel that I need to get used to not just weight but also in moving said weight from that spot. It is a different movement for me with the pressing. 155lbs was a bit challenging but I got things done I feel at the upper end of the range. So that is something. Moved on to band assisted pull-ups. This was a bit different. So this was two sets with one set being for 6-8 reps with 1-2RIR and a second set of 10-12 with 2-3RIR. These were to be 1-2ct holds as well. So first set was at the same setup I’ve been doing with the lowest I can setup the bands to assist. Those holds get tough and my abdominals are feeling the ab wheel and stone lifting big time. For the rep set, I was to increase the assistance. I felt just from how these had felt in the past with tempo that I’d probably need to move the band up a good bit to have me do enough reps with the expected RIR. So moved it up 8 pins. It was feeling easy at the start but this also got tough quick. I thought I was at 12 reps but wasn’t sure and rewatched to see I had stopped at 11 reps. Well, I needed to stop there as this was getting really tough. Into the garage for the rest of the workout (it was starting to flurry anyways). So first up was a change in the core work. This had been side bends and side plank lifts but while good, the side plank lifts were not good idea on the elbow. Especially since it seems more sensitive to pressure being applied since the procedure. So this was new with the paloff press. I’ve seen these used in more rehab kind of settings for building the inner abdominal muscles and for anti-rotational bracing. What was the plan here was to do these in a split stance and low reps but hold them for 10 seconds. These were deceptively challenging but good. I think I was initially worried these would be stressful on my shoulders because of my long arms but it wasn’t really and most of that effort was in the midsection and lower body. Last thing was lying dumbbell extensions. Same as it has been with notes still being to increase reps where I could and improve quality of motion. Also if I felt pain to stop or adjust to 3 second eccentrics. This I wasn’t sure how it would go really. I had been able to do these last week before the elbow visit but wasn’t sure how these would go after that. Doing higher reps on the warm ups to the working weight had felt like the best course of action with just how things felt the past two times. There was discomfort but not enough to make me stop. I put on wrist wraps on both wrists and a compression cuff on the left side. I managed to add a rep to the heavier set and the down set continues to move and feel easy. I wouldn’t miss this if this ends up getting dropped. Obviously I will have to keep a watch of things. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching. Even though knees were feeling somewhat fine, I still iced them just to be on the safe side and not just assume that the month of anti-inflammatories is going to take care of it.

January 21, 2023 – Week 13, Day 4

Hip Airplanes (0-10-0-10 tempo)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Paused Cossack Squats (5 seconds)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Paused Safety Squat Bar Squats w/ bands (2 seconds, +28lbs/+58lbs)
65x3
105x3
135x3
165x3
195x3
225x3
225x3
225x3
225x3
225x3

Paused Sandbag Rows (3 seconds, short ways)
175x2
175x2
175x2
250x4
260x4
275x4

Atlas Stone Loads (51”, tacky)
290x1
335x1
375x1 (egg)
425x1 (21”)
375x3 (egg)
375x3 (egg)

Atlas Stone Roll Ups into Loads (55”, tacky)
350x3 (21”)
350x3 (21”)

Backward Sled Drags (concrete, 60 seconds rests)
405x100’
405x100’

Sandbag Bearhug Holds (off 20” box)
275x60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: I was a little anxious for this workout for stupid reasons. Partly because of knees being achy this week and then just logistics. I had iced my knees after Thursday’s workout and managed to get in soft tissue work Friday evening. I got up at somewhat reasonable hour to train but did end up hitting snooze a few times. I had wanted to start day earlier but there wasn’t a sense of urgency like last week with wanting to get out there to train to work with my sister’s schedule and get like half my training done before hand and makes sure there were people there to assist on things. Drive wasn’t as smooth due to construction on one of the exits before I could get to the main part of the drive. Very rarely is there an issue once I get through Harrisburg. That added about 20 minutes to the drive so it was about an hour to get out there. I was sitting for a bit too long as my left foot was somewhat asleep on me but not an issue once I was there and moving about. Starting things out was the usual mobility stuff of hip airplanes and Cossack squats. Both being 2x5 with bodyweight. I feel I’m getting better with these as far as recovering between sides and sets as in the past (at least with the hip airplanes) I was taking a longer break. I will say that my lower legs were feeling a bit tense and likely from the KOT stuff from Thursday. But I think that was good as far as getting things awake and primed. I took literally no rest between sets and sides on the hip airplanes. I did the same with the Cossack squats. Just rest being putting on knee sleeves and adjusting the camera. This was probably the best these have felt for me since implementing them into the training again. Left knee still feels off but not as dramatically so. Maybe the stuff Thursday helped here too. Doing these all with short succession and rests got a good sweat going. Squats with ssb up next. As mentioned last week, this was to be the lighter week for speed. To prime for stones. Plan was work up to 45-50%x5x3 with 10-15% added in band tension and 2ct pauses. I had come to the conclusion that this bar is different one than what I was using in the past and needed to adjust the numbers to reflect things being that case and use numbers more in line with what I’ve done at home on my own ssb. And perhaps considering that maybe it’s not the lower body but the midsection that is the part the lags and that I can’t brace things well enough with the ssb to truly hit a max based off of my reps with lower weight. I also need to keep in mind perhaps that my working max may need to change depending on where I’m at in training and my training age. So if using older maxes, use the lower percents. The estimates I used was 425x3 is what I’ve done with my bar at home so 450lbs max (have been using 490lbs max). 225lbs would meet 50% of new working max and be slightly above 45% of old working max. The band choice also would work out for either case. I need to not be so rigid sometimes. This band setup ended up having more percentage of weight at bottom compared to last time I did these with pauses. Smaller jumps since not doing something that was smoothly fitting a 40-50lbs jump. I was keeping an eye on the right knee as that is the one that has felt achy all week. I ended up taking a little bit shorter rests here compared to what was suggested (90-120 seconds). Another thing to prime for stones was sandbag rows. Plan was 3x4 ranging from RPE 6.5-7.5 with 3 second holds. I had a better idea what to expect. I also realized that I should be going a bit heavier here after last time as the more compact bag felt better. I’ve done these before but I think only after the last session did I truly understand an aspect of them. They can be a warm up for stones but they also allow for a greater ROM compared to stones for the pick and pull in. So that understanding has made me treat them a little differently as far as intent. Not just extra fluff work. So I decided to do the top weight from last time as the first work set. All the bags up to that were floppy so I just did several sets with the largest not floppy bag to prep. Only issue with that was balance not quite right the first two reps going up 75lbs. I had balance figured out for the next set with weight added. Last set I swapped in the chubby and compact 275lbs vs the longer one. My thoughts were this was more like a stone anyways and the stones I was going to be working with were a tad wider than the sandbags. Again, this last set felt like the easier of the sets. Then it was stones. I was nervous. A different kind of nervous from last time. Last time was jitters touching stones again after a long layoff. This was more a concern of how to improve on last time. Stones have come easy to me since I can remember with strongman. I’d place well without having access to them beyond a pipe with a flange loaded up with weights. Harder to get to stones when starting out and often I did them low volume and mostly singles. There hasn’t been an urgency to lift super heavy since 2011 as most shows outside of Giants Live and WSM don’t really do atlas stones and even then it is a series. Most shows are local and it is for reps. Maxes do show up but not very often and it can be tough to train without a wide selection. I recall as show that was within the last few months that had a “max stone” but only had it up to 375lbs and everyone ended up lifting it so they did it by fastest time. Last time I’ve had to “push” had been when 2017 Nationals had a stone of steel for reps with 360lbs when I was starting that year out doing 140lbs from coming back from the 7 month injury layoff. And even that was very basic every other week progression. You can progressively load a stone of steel but no the case with atlas stones. The plan for the session was similar to last time in that work up to a top single then triples after that with a certain percentage drop. That 50lbs jump from the 375lbs and 425lbs was what was causing me issues. I had no doubts I could do it even after just one session on stones (I don’t really count last week’s as a true stone session) but I didn’t feel I could make it the RPE 7-7.5. So the potential plan was to do the 375lbs again and try to make it easier and maybe do like 1x3, 1x2 or 2-3x1 with it. But I think around Friday I decided that I’ll just have to see. Another thing was I was going to try out a new brand of tacky. I’ve been using Spider Tack for a long time but I do tend to need a lot of it for a session with these dirty stones and it seemed to not really be in stock in a size that was what I wanted (they had super tiny size and gigantic and odds are this will be only contest with stones this year and who knows when I’ll do them again as it has been like more than a year between shows with them). S.T.A.B. Tack was something suggested to me by Jodi as she had indicated she hadn’t needed to retack very much doing stones (and it was one that she stuck to so well it ripped her shirt trying to unstick from it). That was like 6-7 months ago but now I have a show with stones so here we are. Opening it was a chore as some of it go into the lip of the cap and I needed to use a tacky towel to open the container at home. Suffice it to say, this stuff does stick good and I needed less reapplications and less of it. So since I had warmed up to 275lbs with the sandbag, I decided I’d take bigger jumps to facilitate going for 425lbs. I was also lowering the load height to contest (I was going 4” higher last time). So did 290lbs, 335lbs and then 375lbs. I was a little hesitant with 375lbs as 335lbs had stuck a little to the floor and felt a tad harder than I would’ve liked for what was planned. Well, I guess it was time to try 425lbs. If this ended up being harder than what was planned, I was doing to lower the weight a good bit on the rep sets afterwards. Bunch of nervous sweats pooling down my arms. I finally went for it and it came up quite easy. I was actually having more trouble with getting my arms into a better position in the lap as the tacky was sticking hard to the dusty part of the stone. I made sure I went up high enough on the load so as not to just be on the lip. To insure I was in control. So that went well. The tacky was so strong that it ripped off a 5” section of tape on my forearm. I’ve had like a single strand tear or tape slide down but I don’t recall an entire patch. I may need to double wrap the arms with this tacky. I had plenty of tape so I had that arm rewrapped which meant I needed to add more tacky. So the next part was 2x3 with 10-12.5% less weight. Which meant the 375lbs was now the repping weight. I was quite pleased with how that first set of three went. Casual pace and no retack. I didn’t feel as drained compared to last time with 40lbs less. Granted lower load height but everything felt better as I was able to do these that first set without having to readjust in the lap. The style I like if I can own the weight and move quick. I didn’t retack for the second set. First rep I got like the others but I was bit out of position so I slowed things down a bit and did the last two reps with adjusting in the lap style. I added some tack for the last thing. This was to either use the same weight or reduce by 5-7.5% as the goal was to do two roll ups and then an extension to a load. Now I went with a decrease as I wanted to make sure I wasn’t skimping on the load portion (I don’t really have to fully extend for contest height and this is what will need work). I also misread and thought it was two sets of this. I moved over to the 55” load for these. First set went well. Second set not so much. I went to try and extend even more that first rep and it got myself off balance as I wasn’t going for a load and it came forward and grazed knuckles on the platform. But I didn’t drop the stone and recovered and finished up the set. I felt proud of this stone session. I don’t recall doing this much work on stones before and having all the reps be well within my abilities. I felt like this is a session a pro strongman would do. Not so say I haven’t done some crazy workouts with stones with heavier weights. Clean up after that to get ready for the last bit of the workout. Thankfully not as much tacky on me or as painful a clean up with the raw skin. So last thing was interesting. Last time this was sled drags with 60 seconds rest between them to build up the legs for husafell carry. And with how last week went with testing 90% contest, it went quite well. Especially with how jelly leg I felt doing sandbag carries at home on the up and down street. What had been the thing to give first had been my upper body with squeezing the implement to my body with my over arm. So I had mentioned that the tactics might be to either work on moving quicker with fatigue (like sets of 100’ with short rests) or maybe holds on belt squat or something. So what came from that was to do the sled drags and then afterwards do a sandbag bearhug for 45-60 seconds and see how that went. Since I know that sandbag puts it out further from body then husafell this would be more taxing. So starting things off with 405lbs for 2 runs of 100’ on the backwards sled drag. Even with my counting slow, I cut my rests short by 10 seconds it would seem. First set was easy until near the end. I was hoping it was just the friction changing but it felt tough the entire time on the second set, even though time was similar. Aim was a minute with the bag. I picked 275lbs since that is about the same weight as what I did with the husafell. Good lord this was evil after all that. It immediately felt like how my lower body feels when I’ve reached near the end of what I can do. And I was in that stress position for a minute. Thing is, I could’ve kept holding it but my posterior chain was calling it quits and I would’ve been crumpled over. Definitely a keeper, especially for those with bad knees that have a max distance carry. Put stuff away and drank a protein shake while stretching out. As I was leaving, someone in the parking lot started talking to me as if they knew me. Asking if I had a good workout, commenting I was huge and then asking what was up with my elbow. Lol. No knee issues driving home. New deadlift band platform was in my driveway so had to move that and assemble before bringing car into the garage. Ate burritos as a treat for the stone workout.

January 19, 2023 – Week 13, Day 3

Band Assisted Thread The Needles
lbx10/10
lbx10/10

Paused Swiss Bar Bench Presses (2 seconds)
45x3
75x3
105x3
135x3
165x2
195x2
225x2
255x6
230x6

Paused Inverted Ring Rows (2 seconds)
bw+15x12
bw+15x10

Single Arm Dumbbell Y Raises on Incline Bench (Iso Hold)
10’sx12/12
10’sx12/12

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (followed by 40 seconds stretch)
mmbx15/15
mmbx15/15

Knees Over Toes Calf Raises (3 seconds stretch)/Deep Squat Holds
bwx15/bwx45 seconds
bwx15/bwx45 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: So based off the further considerations and thoughts, this workout did lower a bit more but not a lot. I initially thought it might be pushing too much (after the elbow issues this week from the draining) but realized that only parts of the workout were really going to be intense and rest was kind of mobility and related. Certainly some troubleshooting needed on my part here with some of these newer exercises. It was raining outside off and on and was dark all day so I just stuck to in the garage for training. Not that really anything needed to be done outside. The first thing was a new one for thoracic mobility called thread the needles with band assistance. The app recommended video didn’t look right to me (it had the demo with a foam roller for the arm which would definitely bother my one elbow) and had to look around some more. I think I got the gist of it down but it would appear from comments from Drew that I had too much band tension and need to rewatch videos for next time assuming it shows up again. Even if not quite right, whatever I did I can see as something to help with mobility for say an arm-over-arm. I also need to remember to put something down or wear something on my knees on the garage floor. Next thing was still swiss bar benching but a change. Flat benching with pauses. Indication was to work up sets of 2-3 reps and do a top set of 4-6 (2RIR) and then drop 10% for a match rep set and report back how they felt as far as RIR. Haven’t done any flat benching for many months and I had clearly been overdoing it at the time with failing weights I have done for many reps in the past. Perhaps the change from incline to flat was to take stress of shoulders but still work the pressing muscles. I was hoping I could push things on these but also leery with the elbow. Thankfully, the elbow was fine with this. I guess as fine as it is going to be with things. Flat benching did feel a little weird. I’m not sure if I’ve done just flat bench with this bar before. I know I’ve done board pressing, incline and floor press before. The bar path feels better to me. There isn’t that “dead zone” like with incline press that I feel I have and need to press fast to get through. I could feel the chest muscles having to work today. Can’t say that always is the case with pressing. I would’ve liked to have done this top set with 285lbs but I made the right call with 255lbs for this first session. Down set felt good. Using the wrist wraps because wrist seems to be needing more time to recover as well. Lower abs were sore from the ab wheel work as expected so laying down on the bench a little gingerly and getting up off it was also a little tougher. Up next was the inverted ring rows. Repeat of last week with 2x10-15 with 2ct holds and no more than RPE 7 so as not to take away from event work on Saturday. Notes indicated that if these do feel like too much that this will be dropped and something would get adjusted as far as volume on other things. I was pleasantly surprised how these went last time as I had not been expecting to get as many reps with weight added due to past experience with fatigue on these with pauses. I didn’t want to do an exact repeat of last week so I decided I’d add 5lbs more and see if I could still keep at it. Definitely saw a decrease in the reps with that adjustment but still comfortable. I feel I also didn’t take as ridiculously long between the two sets as I did last week either. Iso Y raises were next. This was the thing that would get changed in volume if rows were dropped. Same difficulty listed for these as last time but volume change. 2x10-12 was what was posted this time. These are quite challenging I’m finding. Since I can do sets of 10 with the rests, I figured I’d give sets of 12 a shot with just two sets. Oof, this was kind of tough with the iso hold. These might be the toughest thing of the workout for me. Triceps with bands but a lot lower intensity as focus was more moving and then mobility. So overhead single arm stuff with anchor point being around my knee. Do a set of 10-15 reps and then hold the stretch for 30 seconds with deep nasal breathing for stretch in lats and tris. Of course with my counting, I went long and it was more like 40 seconds. I used less band tension than I’ve usually used for this exercise because notes were light and the stretch focus. Funny enough, there did seem to be some fatigue from the first and second sets. Last thing was ankle mobility tied in with calf work. I also was allowed to add in hip mobility to superset if I wanted to. Exercise was knees over toes calf raises with 3 second stretch. My ankles found being flat to the floor was enough of a task for the stretch at this point. Drew did suggest I get some kind of block and think forward sled movement. I got to keep working on these things so as to keep my joints healthy enough for this dumb stuff I do. I did a deep squat hold after each set for what I thought was 30 seconds but ended up being 45 seconds (again, I seem to count slow when relaxed). Put stuff away and ate pot roast. This workout didn’t beat me up. It felt relaxing. I kind of needed that with how stressful the week had ended up being.

January 18, 2023 – Week 13, Day 2

Warm Up Circuit

Paused Trap Bar Deadlifts (15”, 2 seconds, straps)
140x3
230x3
320x3
410x3
410x3
410x3
410x3
410x3
410x3

Hatfield Bulgarian FFE Split Squats (2”)
65x3/3
115x3/3
155x3/3
195x3/3
225x10/10
225x10/10

Single Leg Seated Band Hamstring Curls (explosive reps, full ROM)
lbx20/20
lbx20/20
lbx17/17

Paused Ab Wheel (2 seconds)
bwx13
bwx10
bwx7

Stretching
 
Comments: So Monday didn’t end well for me. Not in a training sense, just more in a I wasn’t expecting to have a panic attack sense. So when I was seen for the elbow bursitis on 10/19/22, I had been told I could come in to get it drained as needed and that if it filled back up in a week that it was probably needing surgery and more like a month, then that was fine. It ended up being more than a month and then I just kind of put it off due to the holidays and not wanting to derail things. I had expectations from how things went last time. Did not get same medical provider. I recognized them but wasn’t sure if it was a bad or good recognize. It would end up being a bad afterwards. The tone of voice didn’t change but I got a sense that him seeing me to drain my elbow was an inconvenience and strongly suggesting that I get surgery (while indicating this was not pushing it and that last resort). Indicated he put a note in my chart to consult surgery option if I come back in for this. Now last time I was here, it was antiseptic swab, needle in and drain clear-ish fluid quick and using the same needle inject corticosteroids and I was done with no pain whatsoever. This time, I get sprayed done with cold spray and then get needle jammed in me and the vial fills with blood. Then he attaches another to drain another vial of my blood while squishing the area to try and push more stuff out. It feels uncomfortable and I wasn’t prepared for blood. I got light headed and dizzy and break out into a cold sweat instantly. Blood is on the patient table as well. Doesn’t bother with a band-aid or injecting any corticosteroids and just wraps the arm up in ACE bandage with a baseball sized amount of gauze. States too much stuff in there to inject anything so given 30 days of anti-inflammatories to take orally. And my elbow as now hurting. So wasn’t feeling great going into Tuesday and just trying my best to not linger on it as surgery option would be 4-6 weeks recovery and there really isn’t a good time for that if I want to compete competitively this year (and I have less years each year). So I am trying to keep my arm wrapped and compressed during the day and wearing the copper arm sleeve on the arm while training to see if that helps on top of the anti-inflammatories. But if I’m not in pain, I will put this off longer as that was a very uncomfortable experience for me and next time I won’t go as a walk-in and schedule to meet with a specialist. So thankfully discomfort has lessened since Monday trauma. On to training. Warming up wasn’t specified but I did the same stuff I’ve done the past few weeks with a slight modification as to not lay on my elbows and put pressure there. Trap bar again. Look, it’s going to be trap bar every week until I’m done with this training cycle. Anyways, this was a break from the heavy every week approach. Plan does appear to be going forward to do a lighter week and heavier week. Lighter week being paused speed reps and the heavy week being suited work. Now for this, it indicated to use 50-55% of my max on this and do 1-2ct pauses right off the floor and speed through the lift. There was also the suggestion that if I felt bands would work and I could set things up for that to lower percentage 5% and add 10-15% in bands. I had intended to initially just do straight weight plan as it was easier math if assuming 750lbs for the 55% range and setting up bands can be a pain. But then I thought about it more and decided I did want to do bands. But for whatever reason, I was not able to get the setup to be as secure as I was getting it in the past. Maybe bad spot on the garage floor. I couldn’t get the band tension to be enough and then when it was it would move the anchors. So after about 20 minutes or so (I did this before warming up) I gave up on it and went back to the no bands option. Worked up in triples for the planned 6x3 with 75-90 seconds rest. My right knee was feeling a little uncomfortable today. I had not done icing this week for my knees on the account of assuming that since I’m taking anti-inflammatories for the next 30 days that that would cover it. May not be the case. Despite that, I feel these went fairly well with good control. Then on to the front foot elevated Bulgarian split squat hatfields. For these, advised to work up in triples to 2x8-10 at RPE 8-8.5. I had a thought of going for 225lbs here. 20lbs increase. Again, I thought this might be too much considering things and goal was just 2x8 really. However, I again got through these better than expected. The shoulders do get a little bit of stress from the rack holding and having the ssb dig into them when doing that. I will say this was definitely the closest I’ve felt that I was getting to the appropriate effort ranges and not taking into consideration the taking breath away aspect of it between sides and sets. I’m glad these continue to improve. It does appear that next week is the last of them for right now and switching things up to something less taxing as we get closer to contest peak. Next up was single leg curls with bands. Seated this time and notation on these was to do them explosively with full ROM. I’ve been good about moving fast but not always the all the way back part of it with leg curls with bands. Usually not going to full extension and the band tension being enough that can’t really get it much further flexed but good enough for government work. Plan was 3x12-20. Light band was what I figured would be good here. First set was way too easy. I moved the bench away like 6” and that got things cooking. Left side was handling these a lot better than the right side. Moved the bench back a little more for the last set. I felt my right leg slowing down and fatiguing and stopped at 17 reps. Would’ve liked to have done 3x20 but I knew I needed to call it there. Left side had no problem with matching that. Last thing was abdominal work of my choice. Suggested stuff like planks, reverse crunches and dragon flags. I was worried about those because of the elbow situation. Planks direct pressure to the bursitis and the reverse crunches and dragon flags needing an anchor point that I’d hold from behind my head with elbows fully flexed and that motion hadn’t felt great the day before. Plan with these were to just kind of add some work to hit them to balance things out with the lower back emphasis happening now. I had also tried to think of a motion that was similar to atlas stone extension as far as strain and dragon flags definitely fit the bill. But so did ab wheel. I had forgotten about that exercise. Or perhaps tried to because of how much those cause DOMS in my lower abs. So decided to do those with pauses for 3 sets of max reps leaving 3RIR or so. As expected, I did good that first set and declined substantially on the following sets. Put stuff away and cooked up dinner. Used the flawed logic of not needing icing for knees as the previous days and to also try to get to bed sooner.

January 16, 2023 – Week 13, Day 1

Paused Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (3 stages, 2 seconds)
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L
26x3 R
26x3 L

Axle Push Presses w/ bands (+22lbs bottom/+40lbs top)
36x3
66x3
96x3
126x3
156x3
156x3
156x3
156x3
156x3
156x3
156x3

Band Assisted Pull Ups (pin 24)
sbx10
sbx10
sbx8

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
26’sx10
46’sx6
63’sx11
48’sx20

Paused Side Plank Lifts (6 seconds)
40x3/3
40x12/12
40x12/12

Stretching
 
Comments: Off work for holiday. Considering the things planned, it was a good thing I think that I wasn’t having to worry about work. I’d get to do the stuff in the early afternoon and have time to do stuff in the late evening. I had been putting off getting elbow drained until after the holidays and then realizing a little late that not open on weekends now (but hard to gauge if the clinic and office are same hours). So plan was to do that after training since I knew I’d have to abstain from training for 24hrs afterwards assuming same result as last visit in October. This was also first workout taking into consideration not doing circus dumbbell at working weights each week. Granted, this may get adjusted further after more discussion of plans. I’ve been a bit paranoid with shoulder soreness. Anyways, the plan here was still to do form work with circus dumbbell. Drew is a big believer of drilling the skills of movement on things like circus dumbbell weekly or even a few times a week. So this was pretty much to do as to keep the goal/intent fresh. 26lbs is the handle with 10’s added. Suggested was 4-5 sets of 3 reps. I decided to do 5x3 and added in pauses at three places to really drill that down. Feel where I am in each. I wore wrist wrap on my right wrist because that is still not quite there. Being below freezing Saturday and then above 50 today doesn’t help with joint aches either. Knees seem to be aching a bit on the dip and I do wonder if that achiness is affecting leg drive. I’m noticing with the pauses and light weight that there are some differences in the sides. I tend to press better with the right side if the dumbbell is able to be placed on the midline. Left side is more comfortable and I tend to splay the left foot out as I move from rack to dip drive. Left elbow also seems a little slow to lock out. I was also not lowering these back to the shoulders each rep and just letting it fall down so as to have less fatigue and maybe not bang and bruise up my shoulders more as well. Next thing was another overhead I wasn’t too thrilled with; axle. Specifically, axle push press against bands. Indication was to do 50-60%x6x3 and have it feel like RPE 6-7. I was pretty much already going for just 50% because these band push presses had been wrecking me hard when I was doing them. Trying to not think about things too much. Just move weight. Not equate sensations with previous performance or trainings. There were aches in the shoulders, wrists and knees. I feel I got better with moving as I went but there were concerns of this being too hard or too much. Even though it wasn’t. For all intents and purposes, this was moving well enough and like it should for the goals. I guess concerns that I’ve not been able to demonstrate pressing consistent with what I have hit. But with the knees situation, I may need to start wearing the sleeves for leg drive pressing with the increase in weights for lower body stuff and increase in knee stuff from event work. The rest of the workout was more in line with what I’ve been doing the past few weeks with the switch to contest prep. Moved on to band assisted pull-ups. Same as last week with the plan being 3x8-10 with 2R. Can’t lower the bands any more besides changing band or just not using one. Barely any assistance on these now anyways. But I think having that there is some cue for me to not rush the eccentric or try and shorten the ROM to full deload at the bottom. Aim with same assistance was to add more total reps. First set felt a little tougher than I would’ve liked, second set I pushed a little and last set I scaled back due to the pushing the second set a bit. 3x10 will come and it will be comfortable when it happens. Into the garage to finish up the day. Lying dumbbell extensions. Same as last week with two top sets (10-12 and 12-20). Notes were to use same weight as last week and attempt to improve reps and quality of reps. So not really an option to add reps to the down set but for the top set yes. Good was weights didn’t feel as heavy in the hands working up this time. I did more reps because elbows were feeling achy. Put on wrist wraps for both wrists for the working sets as hope was to maybe take my mind off it feeling heavy and perhaps add some stability for the right wrist. Top weight still felt miserable and went for an extra rep. I didn’t use the bolt on collars as those had made the rest break too long between the first and second set changing out weights. I feel I got it closer to what was needed this time. Down set definitely felt easier compared to last week. Last thing for obliques with paused plank lifts. Same as last week. I attempted a different cushion setup for the left elbow situation but that didn’t really work out. I ended up doing a few reps each side to acclimate to the discomfort and then be able to do the sets. As has been the case, it feels less uncomfortable as I go. But the stuff that gets worked on these got worked hard. Had a protein shake (new delivery had half the wrong flavor) and then stretched out before heading out to get elbow drained. I’m fine but man, things didn’t got as expected with that.

January 14, 2023 – Week 12, Day 4

Hip Airplanes (0-10-0-10 tempo)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Paused Cossack Squats (5 seconds)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x8
155x6
205x4
245x2
295x2
340x5
340x5
340x5

Stone of Steel Roll-ups (full squat, tacky towel)
140x3
175x3
209x3
242x5
242x5

Husafell Carries (taken from 20” box, turns at 50’)
Staggered Grip
150x100’
210x100’
270x355’

Hercules Holds (hook grip)
230x10 seconds
320x35 seconds
280x60 seconds

Comments: Probably a good thing this is another 3 day weekend due to holiday. Give me a chance to take care of some things that won’t require me to alter my schedule/routine drastically. Work was busy Friday and I spent too much time to really insure that I could go and get in a walk during lunch so that was saved until after work. It gets so dark at that time. I was contemplating not walking to just use that time for just soft tissue work and getting to be earlier but I had noticed walking around made the tightness in the lower back/glutes feel better so it was deemed a must. Also made sure to get in soft tissue work and I needed it from how stuff was reacting. Also discussing changes for upper body training to see if that gets things to be on track. Plan was to get out to train at a more reasonable hour (as in wake up to go to work time) as one I needed to make sure there were people there for something programmed in the workout and two to get about half of the workout done so that I could train my sister on the events for the show since this was a rare week she was able to train at the gym. I didn’t want to worry about getting gas in the morning so I just used all the gas in the gas can for the mower (not going to need that until late spring likely) and then worry about gas later. I was kind of surprised that the drive out wasn’t slow going as usually when I leave earlier traffic can be bad getting through the city and especially with it being a holiday weekend. But it was smooth going. Good bit of people there when I showed up but again, seems like even getting out like 2hrs earlier still seemed to be tail end for some people. Some people I was expecting weren’t there though. Starting things off with hip airplanes. Same as last week with just the two sets. I did these barefoot to see if that made the lower legs more active (I had been wearing my converse). I was kind of looking forward to these as I felt these would probably feel good on my tight piriformis stuff that had calmed down a good bit since Thursday. Cossack squats after that for same thing as last week as well. I switched to doing the left side first after how things felt. That side the knee just isn’t a fan as it feels “dull” and like I have to go in two parts at first until things are warmed up enough. This has been an issue since spring 2021 which was deemed as muscular related stability issue with something being too strong compared to other part of leg. This might just be the best it will be as it has been something managed since that time and I’ve not had my knee “go” on me like that time when I went to the urgent care to get it checked. Just keep to knee sleeves and know it feels better as I get more warmed up. No issues with the right side other than just noticing how much tighter my left side feels in the hamstring when in the stretch. Squats with ssb up next. So indication here was that this week would be like last week and then next week will be more a speed session for squats to allow for more freshness for heavy stones. Squats are training lift, stone is competition lift. So goal was progressing in weight linearly and having it be 3x5 at RPE 7-7.5. Considering how 335lbs had felt last week (and probably was on the high end of what I should’ve done last time) that I’d go just 5lbs increase and depending on how I felt decide if sticking to the weight or adding 5lbs a set as sometimes that works for me. Warming up initially felt fine but then as I got more weight it was feeling kind of rough. Feeling tougher than last week. And I had been nervous at that time. The weight never really felt comfortable to the point I could just walk it out and go in one breath like I sometimes am able to do as I get more used to the weight. These felt slow and heavy. Video suggests I still was leaving plenty RIR though and I think it is more than stuff was fatigued from heavy lower work (really heavy pulls and adding 15lbs to hatfields from already at 25lbs increase). I had a creeping suspicion that something was off. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve kind of kept a record of using the ssb at my house and the one at the strongman gym as different brands and it felt like the one at home was like 10% harder from pure numbers. I was wondering if this was the same bar as when I did that top set two weeks ago, it felt no easier than the one I had at home. It would appear that this is a different bar from looking at videos. I think the previous owner switched gyms and took it with them. That bar had sat a little lower from the wear and tear with the bar pad whereas this one sits higher like mine at home. So I may need to keep that in mind with using working maxes going forward. My sister showed up at this point for training so pace went a bit out the window but that was fine as the rest of the workout was stuff that kind of lent itself to longer rests between stuff as more event specific things. So next thing was stone roll ups but a bit different from how I’ve done them. In the past, I’ve kind of just lapped the stone and just did extension without readjusting each rep to keep secure. More like how I was doing the sandbag roll ups to box. This was to be going into a full squat like I would to catch a heavy stone and then extending and holding briefly. Indication was to use a sandbag or a light atlas stone (ideally the lightest 19-20” stone). I wasn’t sure if this was to be with tacky or not as usually not training stones every week (and when I’ve done in the past, it was always light and then heavy). I was low on tacky (some did arrive in time) and I felt that the stone that would fit the bill was the dirtiest stone there (265lbs) and that clean up from stones with tacky was going to be a problem as it wasn’t the last thing for the session and the other stuff were somewhat grip dependent (a lot grip dependent) and either having tacky residue would give inaccurate numbers and contaminate the equipment or having hands to slick and greasy would make these near impossible to achieve. So I decided that I’d use my stone of steel and tacky towel. I could stick to 20” and adjust the weight and allow for regular linear progression assuming this is needed. This is also probably what I’ll need to use for the show after this with stone to shoulder since that is a new movement for me. I did triples with 35lbs jumps. The full squat part of things made this a bit interesting and different. Breathing also was different as there was this requirement to crush really hard to extend and stay tight but not pass out. It looked a lot easier to pick and lap on video then it felt. Last rep the first set was the hardest as I could tell I wasn’t sticking as much on that one. Second set felt a lot easier. Definitely was feeling more comfortable with the extension on these. I know that will be on point with more practice with heavy stones in the position. May need to consider what abdominal exercise could mimic that or be close to the sensation. From there it was time for husafell carries. It was up to me if I wanted to do these from the floor or off the box again. Show is from floor but I’m doing a lot of lower back work with pulls and stones so it will be more a technique thing as we get closer. At this time, I just want to work on getting work done. Plan was work up to weight I did last week for a single set of max distance with turns at 50’. I was prepared this time as far as athletic tape and using liquid chalk and regular chalk for the top set. Staggered grip and 60lbs jumps. The weight was feeling light in my arms but I didn’t feel like I had the endurance in the lower body to go beyond 200’. I guess just from how squats had felt and how my legs had felt with soft tissue work. But I guess I was wrong as this went swimmingly. My lower body didn’t get tired this time around compared to when I did the sandbag at home (my street up and down really saps the lower body). My grip on the bottom arm/hand was what went on me. Please with hitting this distance with 90% of contest weight. This is right where I wanted to be come contest day and we are still 8 weeks out. Hopefully I don’t need to push it this far on the day but it is there. I’d say getting the lower body up to par for this was a success. Last thing was Hercules holds. I feel like this was a last minute addition after I mentioned it was setup in the gym. I have to do this for PA Dutch and Regionals but different weights and rules. PA Dutch is using this exact apparatus and hook grip is allowed. Regionals is different setup and hook grip not allowed. I figured that it was best to get sessions on the setup at this point using hook grip since odds are that longer hold time is going to be needed. I can hit over 40 seconds with the weight without hook grip but need to prepare for longer and get things ready as there will be a lot of stuff that requires hands and grip at the show so need to consolidate things. I am able to do grip work at home that is more in line with the rules of the other show and then when this one is done I can focus on that. First thing was the setup was out but not in a way that it could be used so had to get it moved out. Second was that there wasn’t really people there that had used it or knew how to use it and that was key with making sure that things go smoothly. I figured that this would be the case and only planned to do a single warming up set and then do the two work sets. Suffice it to say, things didn’t go smoothly. It took a few tries before spotters were able to get things in synch and I wasn’t getting launched one way or the other. Plan had been to do a top weight for 30 seconds comfortably and then drop weight but make it tougher by going for what I think would be decent for contest. I’ve not tried anything above 230lbs on this setup for hook grip but I did over 90 seconds the one time so I figured that assuming I could do this no issue, then something that I could get like 20 second regular style should be comfortable with hook for longer. So I went with 3 plates and then plan was to do contest weight for the longer hold. 320lbs actually felt quite good and I probably could’ve go closer to 45 seconds, maybe even a 60 seconds. It can be hard to tell as it is more a forearm fatigue thing than grip. I went 5 seconds longer as it had turned out to be too easy and it had been such a pain to get things setup for this attempt anyways. Repeated effort does seem hard with the hook grip though as 280lbs was feeling awfully close to how the 320lbs felt. I feel I probably could’ve done 75 seconds here but it would’ve been close. 60 felt like enough. Even though I was done training, I was there for a good bit later to help my sister finish up her training and talking with Guy and George before getting to stretching before driving home.

January 12, 2023 – Week 12, Day 3

Swiss Bar Incline Bench Presses
45x3
65x3
85x3
105x3
125x3
145x2
165x2
185x2
205x2
225x6 PR+1 rep

Paused Swiss Bar Incline Bench Presses (1 second)
195x6
195x6
195x6

Paused Inverted Ring Rows (2 seconds)
bw+10x14
bw+10x12

Single Arm Dumbbell Y Raises on Incline Bench (Iso Hold)
10’sx10/10
10’sx10/10
10’sx10/10

Band Triceps Extensions
ab’sx30
ab’sx25

Stretching
 
Comments: Considering the feedback from the previous two workouts this week, this was going to be a shorter workout as far as the volume and exercises. I woke up with stiffness in the left side of lower back and glute and I knew I was probably going to have some stuff in that area stressed from the heavy rep work on the trap bar pulls. I was feeling it out for the first few hours but realized that I needed to do some spinal decompression to get things not as aggravated and then eventually things would calm down and moving around would get me back on track. Piriformis was tight and inflamed. I didn’t quite get to go right to training after work as the mailman decided to give me a bunch of another person’s mail that was about a quarter mile away. I was initially going to leave it until later (maybe give to my father to take to post office or something) but I noticed there was also a package that was stamped with expedited tag displaying that they had paid more on shipping then I’d care to spend on most items I purchase. So I walked it over and found it was an elderly couple. The husband had answered and said it’s been a while since they got the mail wrong and his wife was waiting for the package. So walked back home (took another route so that I wouldn’t run into the mailman out on route haha). Walking was probably good thing anyways for the tenseness in the lower back and glutes. Anyways, on to training. Thoughts are that perhaps less pressing work volume as that doesn’t seem to be recovering well with event based things for overhead implement work. A new exercise and there seems to be some solid weeks and then hit a wall. So this was initial decrease but it looks like even more so based off of response and from looking at past trainings from 2017 to 2021. Trying to replicate what I could do in 2016 or before doesn’t seem like it’s happening after what happened with my press trying to use that for helping axle press. But have to wait and see what that entails as workouts planned until next deadlift session. Swiss bar incline bench again. Only a single top set this time. Plan being 225lb and hit AMRAP with 1-2RIR and report back RIR. I’ve been improving slowly on this but improving despite that bad session where I tried to go too hard on these and get 225lbs. I was going to do it again I guess but fresh rather than a set beforehand. Working up in 20lbs jumps of triples and then into doubles has seemed to been working since I’ve implemented that. Feeling like I’m having better control on the reps in mobility in the shoulders and chest and really exploding up. What appears to feel most comfortable with unracking weights is not fully locked out arms but locking out for the other reps. This exercise is confusing to me in that stuff will feel fast, crisp and ridiculously light but then I add 20lbs and it will feel incredibly heavy. But have to trust I can do it from repeated efforts of the past few weeks. 225lbs now and time to lift. Managed to get an extra rep from when I last went for this weight and didn’t get stapled under it going for that sixth rep. Granted, hard to say if improved to the point where I’m doing 2 reps more (assuming RIR) when last time I did a set beforehand for more reps (6 vs 2). But in either case, it is nice to be getting somewhat past hang ups on this exercise. Down sets were to be 190-200lbs for 3 sets of matching reps with whatever I ended up hitting on the top set. So 3x6 with 1ct pauses. I figured I’d just stick to the same weight as last week because that did feel somewhat challenging as the set went on. Same thing here really but more of a contrast in the first and last rep. First rep super-duper easy and then getting tougher as I went. This was also a circumstance where the weight didn’t feel easier on subsequent sets as I went. But generally not that case when pauses involved and for more than a few reps. I do feel I didn’t overthink things about unrack and having weight on my chest like last week with pauses feeling like I had to control it with some hesitation to have it sit where I wanted it to. Back work next. No other pressing this session really. I had thought it would be paused chest supported rows  but not the case. Inverted ring rows back for a visit. Plan was 2x10-15 with 2ct holds and no more than RPE 7 so as not to take away from event work on Saturday. Last time I did these, I had used just bodyweight and was struggling to do more than 3x10 but that was with a set rest break between sets. It indicated in the notes to do some additional load so assumed I was to try more than bodyweight. So I put 10lbs in the backpack and wore it on my torso. I was expecting 10 reps really and some discomfort in the elbows/forearms at the start. But things actually felt quite good. Ended up doing 14 reps and had 3RIR and maybe more. I’ve done bodyweight for 15 reps before. So that was nice considering no focus on these in a few months. Took longer than planned between that and second set but there was still a rep decrease from fatigue. Which tends to be the case on this one. But still hit 12 reps with 3RIR. So that was fun. Then it was time for that weird unilateral but not really dumbbell exercise with light weight. Same as last time with it being 3x10 at RPE 7. Not really planning to progress these in weight. The difficult part is the hold for the none moving side. The lifting and such is easy. These felt tougher this time. Perhaps because last week didn’t have direct back work right beforehand and maybe because I was much closer to the actual rest periods of 90 seconds as opposed to last week. But these were quite exhausting by the end. Last thing was just band triceps stuff. No set reps other than indicating 2 sets of 3RIR and go for pump. I chose the same variation as last week here but increased the bands a good bit to try and lower the reps. Still hit decently high reps on these. Took some rest between the sets since not supersetting with something else. Put stuff away and cooked dinner before stretching out.

January 11, 2023 – Week 12, Day 2

Warm Up Circuit

Trap Bar Deadlifts (15”, straps)
140x3
230x3
320x3
410x2
480x2
550x2
622x7

Trap Bar Deadlifts (15”, straps, 5/0/0/1 tempo)
550x4
550x4
550x4

Hatfield Bulgarian FFE Split Squats (2”)
65x3/3
115x3/3
155x3/3
205x10/10
205x10/10
205x10/10

Paused Standing Single Leg Band Hamstring Curls (3 seconds)
sb+lbx12/12
sb+lbx12/12
sb+lbx12/12

Paused Titan Fitness Frame Shrugs (finger tips, 2 seconds)
205x5
255x5
Cluster Reps (15 seconds)
295x10+10+10

Stretching
 
Comments: I was still mulling over the circus dumbbell disappointment. Extrapolating to a theme of overhead/pressing training seeming to not be where it was for shows in the past. Thinking I’m really not cut out for this as always struggling on those kind of events and never guaranteed to have it be a comfortable weight like other stuff. I can assume I’m ready but then stuff seems to not pan out. Been at this for 14yrs and been really trying for 10yrs to go pro. I feel time is running out to fix it. Underperforming in overhead had almost had me withdraw from competing at Nationals this past year when it ended up being my highest placing I’ve had. I won an event by a good margin too. And yet, I feel I’m not good enough. So wrestling with those thoughts/emotions had me moving a bit slower the next day and into the following day. Got most things done but didn't budget time for soft tissue work. I’m not sure what the fix is but maybe the answer is cutting back more on overhead training as I get older. I seem to still be good with lower body trainings and upper back stuff and midsection. I also was a bit more worn than I thought with the stones as I noticed I had a lot of healing bruises on my inner thighs from them I hadn’t noticed initially. Well I keep going as I don’t quit easy. Warming up wasn’t specified but I did the same stuff I’ve done the past two weeks. Trap bar again. The goal was work up to 615-625lbs for a max rep set leaving 2RIR with goal being like 8 reps or so. Indication is that will back off on deadlifts and go more a alternating speed sessions to allow more focus on the stones. We do know now that suits allowed for car deadlift but I’d like to keep with building raw numbers and get some touches in the suit to get used to reps. So same warming up as last week besides the last jump to the top set. I was feeling decent working up. Some lower back tightness to the right side. I went 2lbs heavier just because the heavier sets of 25’s were easier to get to. I got set and went at it. Felt my right knee make a slight pop as I broke the weight off the ground. More like a cracking knuckles situation. I’m not sure if the garage section was slightly tilted or if I had the bar or straps not even but it was having one side touching slightly before the other and it was throwing me off a little. Besides the first rep, the 6th rep felt the best. I slowed down the descent on the 7th rep and felt that the 8th was going to be a heck of a grinder (and might have to restart) so I stopped before I put more than 70% into the pull to settle for 7 reps. I knew that I can still gut out deadlifts when I’m having a bad week or feeling bad physically or mentally. I was feeling quite worn from this and figured that I’d probably be still feeling it when it came time to do the eccentric work. Same weight as last week with plan being 3x4 this time. It was supposed to be 2x4 last time but I miscounted and decided to even things out. These felt harder this time around. At least for the first set. Very similar feeling to that first week of trap bar pulls when I initially couldn’t get the weight on the downset after the work set due to just being fatigued. It did feel better on the second set. Third set I got a little off balance at lockout that first rep and I had to get things stable before resuming. Suffice to say, I am looking for a little break on these as far as heavy heavy every week. Then on to the front foot elevated Bulgarian split squat hatfields. For these, advised to work up in triples to 3x8-10 at RPE 8. I wanted to do 205lbs. Break the 200lbs barrier. I was expecting 3x8 on these and it being tough but so be it. But that didn’t end up being the case. I actually got 3x10. Right side feels stronger on these. I am gassing between sides when I take shorter rests compared to longer rest between sets. Next up was standing single leg curls with bands again. Same 3x10-15 with 3 second holds. I added another band to the mix and hoped it would be challenging enough to have me drop reps finally. It did. I was thinking of only doing 10 reps that last set but I pushed on to get 3x12. Definitely was taking more rest between sides compared to when I first did these and was just hoping from one to the other. Upon review of video, I was taking longer rests compared to usually doing on stuff and that might have been from me having my legs be tired and sucking wind as well as having indigestion. So then the last thing of the session was grip work with the frame shrugs. Those fingertip ones with up explosive and hold for 1-2ct. Plan was to use the same dumb weight I picked last time I did these but do it as a 30 rep set of 10 rep clusters and report back. I did 5’s warming up to get a feel and had the jumps more reasonable compared to last time. As I knew what I was getting into. There is something very exhausting about doing an explosive movement with holds repeatedly. It’s a different kind of fatigue. Like, you feel you’re fatigued and couldn’t any more but then find a way to be even more fatigued as you go on. I did 15 seconds rest between the sets of cluster reps. Managed to get through them. No exaggeration but these were the hardest thing to get through of the session. Put stuff away and ate pot roast before stretching. Iced knees before bed.

January 9, 2023 – Week 12, Day 1

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
60x2 R
60x2 L
80x2 R
80x2 L
100x2 R
100x2 L
115x2 L
130x2 L
145x2 L
155x1 L (3 misses)

Behind the Neck Strict Presses (3 second eccentrics)
45x3
75x3
105x3
135x6
135x6
135x6

Band Assisted Pull Ups (pin 24)
sbx10
sbx9
sbx8

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
26’sx5
46’sx5
63’sx10
48’sx20

Paused Side Plank Lifts (6 seconds)
40x12/12
40x12/12

Stretching
 
Comments: I wanted this to be a good workout. Granted, I was feeling some stuff from Saturday but not as bad as they could be I guess. I just know that stones were hard on the body. I felt that I got enough sleep and felt rested. I was expecting things to go a certain way. Near end of my work day, started to have cramping/tension in the lower/mid back and more so the right side. This was going to a workout where I was doing it after work unlike the past two sessions on Monday being holiday observances. Circus dumbbell to start things off. Plan would appear to be alternating between working up to a top set one week with down sets and then the other week being lighter EMOM stuff. So this was to be a heavier week. Work up in doubles like two weeks prior and hit a top set of 3 without pauses. No grinding reps and make it tougher than last time. I felt I had made the first week light enough to be able to improve 5-10lbs with pauses removed. And I could understand that. I was fully prepared for going for 160lbs left and 145lbs right if feeling good. But stuff just felt heavy. My right wrist was aching just trying to hold and press the weights. Left side it felt heavy but locking out and moving was feeling good and I guess that’s what matters. When I switched to just left, I had the dumbbell seem to get caught on my trap rather than where it normally sits for the last double before swapping in the big bell. Didn’t inspire confidence. Neither did any set after that. 145lbs felt a ton heavier than it did last week. Felt heavier than 150lbs felt two weeks ago as well. Usually, I seem good with controlling the weight down and keeping hands on to reclean right away (quicker reps) but I had to reclean 145lbs a second time with a slight break because I got off balance lowering it. This was not feeling good for my ego today. I could understand if I was having this the first week but not the third week. If I was following the effort, I’d have done 145lbs for the triple. But that would mean less weight and having that triple be harder than the EMOM I did with this weight last week for 10 comfortable singles. I stupidly and desperately added 10lbs to hope that I’d treat this more seriously and get a surge or jolt to get the reps in. It worked for 1 rep but just a mess after that. Wasn’t able to balance a second or third rep and I tried it again and couldn’t really get it much off the shoulders on the fourth attempt. I shut it down there for circus dumbbell. Something was wrong and I saw not value in continuing to punish myself. That also meant I didn’t bother with any working sets for the right side as that side was feeling even worst than the left today. I told myself to move on to the rest of the workout and trying to not let negative thoughts paralyze me. Next exercise was kind of new. New in that it’s been not pushed as a heavier exercise before; behind the neck strict presses. Indication is that these will be alternated with a band push press every other week but with how circus dumbbell went, who knows if I’ve messed up those plans. Idea was 3x6 with 3 second eccentrics at RPE 7. I did triples starting with the bar and adding 30lbs. Touching 135lbs I realized it was the working weight and not a working up set. These feel weird on the first rep in that I don’t feel like I have any strength or power in the position until I really tense up everything. An alien feeling compared to pressing out front. I had to recheck video to make sure I did 6 reps the second set and not 5. Could feel fatigue building by the end. I was still incredibly bummed about circus dumbbell and knew it was going to eat at me a good while. Moved on to band assisted pull-ups. Same as last week with the plan being 3x8-10 with 2R but indicating to use less band assistance to get into that range since I did 3x10 last week. Dropping the band pin height by two placings to the lowest I can set it to. Arms were feeling quite sore after these. These sit feel ok and I’m glad I’m making sure I’m controlling the reps better and getting full ROM rather than just heaving. Into the garage to finish up the day. Lying dumbbell extensions. Same as last week with two top sets (10-12 and 12-20). Indication was to make these so that RIR was 1-2. I figured a 5lbs jump for the heavier set and then 8lbs for the second set (using the bolted on collars) would work out for me. Besides the first warming up set, these just felt heavy in my hands and on my elbows. It was a struggle to get reps with the heavier weight. Switching out weights took time. Still felt heavy in my hands but less so on the elbows. Last thing for obliques with paused plank lifts. Reduced to 2x12 but hold times increased to 5-6ct. Less discomfort from the bursitis elbow this time around. Still using the 40lbs dumbbell. These are getting exhausting for this many reps with this long of a hold each rep. Just work at this time. Put stuff away and ate dinner. I struggled to find the motivation (or point) in stretching rather than just going straight to bed. But I did before cleaning up. Hopefully I’ll feel less insecure about this in the morning after sleeping. But probably not.