February 11, 2023 – Week 16, 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
85x3
Add Bands
85x3
135x3
175x3
225x3
265x3
315x3
370x3
333x3

Stone of Steel Roll-ups (full squat, tacky towel)
140x2
175x2
209x2
6 second holds last rep
247x4
247x4

Husafell Carries (turns at 50’)
Staggered Grip
150x100’
240x100’
330x50’
330x50’
330x255’

Hercules Holds (hook grip)
230x5 seconds
320x60 seconds

Comments: Sleep wasn’t the best quality this week. Well I guess that’s not entirely accurate, more the quantity of sleep wasn’t the best. Work stress and adjusting schedule for things as well. Second half of the week felt like later evenings and trying to stay on top of things. So Friday, that pretty much meant that I had to decide between going to bed early to catch up and be rested to go to train early the following day or spend the time doing soft tissue work. I chose to use the sleeping more option. Sleep is going to do more for me than soft tissue work would make up. Besides, I had already gone for a walk and that was the more important thing to get done as far as getting my lower body feeling good and recovered. I was able to get up with my work alarm without feeling like I needed to sleep more. Plan was to get out to train about the same time as last week but instead of not training for 2.5hrs, train right away as on my own and then hopefully I would have people there to assist with the two events I would need some kind of assistance with. I was feeling good and then allergies hit me hard shortly before I left to train. Drive out was uneventful. There were people there when I got there as is usually the case. But really, it doesn’t seem to matter what time I show up within reason that a majority of them leave within 20 minutes after I show up. Like one of those equation graphs that gets closer and closer to zero but never reaches it. The usual warming up with off with hip airplanes and Cossack squats with the pauses and holds. I was looking forward to the hip airplanes to get my hips and such feeling good as the left side of lower back was tight from heavy pulls on Wednesday. Hips were also feeling them too and more so the left side. I had realized last week that I didn’t have to really use a specific setup to hold on to for the hip airplanes. I was thinking I did and subconsciously taking a short rest between sides thinking I needed to move to the “other side” for the other leg when that wasn’t necessary. So this meant even less break between sides. I needed less rest as I’ve gotten better at this work and I has become less a strenuous exercise and more a mobility and warming up protocol. There is less effort to do the movement that I can focus on the feel. Same with the Cossack squats. There was some slight ache in the left side on the first set but a lot less than it was when I was doing it those first few sessions. But now I’m able to be thinking not just doing the motion but working on getting the hamstrings and hips loaded and stretching them out. It is easier to get the right extended leg stretched vs the left at this time but that has been the case since the beginning. But this was the first time I was able to get the outstretched leg on both sides to “kiss” the ground. Time for the weights. I had kind of hoped that the allergy issue would’ve abated by now with drinking some fluids but nope. Same as last time I was to do heavy on the ssb squats. Same bands that have been in use for the past three weeks. Work up in 2-3 rep sets and then take off 10% for another triple. As previously mentioned, the plan is progressively harder 3rm set building up over 3 sessions every other week to top but not max triple (add 10-20lbs each time). So last time had been aim of RPE 7.5-8 and this time 8-8.5. So I set things up for a 20lbs increase in the event that things were feeling good but able to give myself the option to go lower with less aggressive jumps. Was feeling ok and then got up to like 225lbs or so and it was starting to feel heavy. There just seems to be that moment where stuff is super light and then there is just the sensation of substantial weight added. I know that isn’t the end all be all but that I have to know that the sensation is coming and brace everything hard going forward. I stuck to triples for everything again. I got set for this top set and I was maybe a little worried it was a bit much with how the previous set had felt and going for a 55lbs jumps (I did the same thing last time when the initial plan had been 335lbs, then 345lbs and then 350lbs). Well, it was tougher than last time but still had reps in reserve I feel. Over 400lbs at both the top and bottom with the band tension. My posterior chain was definitely feeling this. Took a bit longer with the down set as the person playing music was leaving and I attempted to setup mine and then the stereo system blew out and now it wasn’t working so rest of the session was pretty much silence accept for when some girls showed up and used the other setup for a little (I couldn’t as I got an iPod mini lol). Similar to last time, the down set felt heavy but moved fast. I guess similar to how the cluster sets had been with suited pulls this week. With that done, it was time for the more event specific stuff. Stone roll ups again. I’m still sticking with the stone of steel and tacky towel. Notes for this week were to be explosive with the reps but hold the extension for 5-6ct on the last rep of each set. Only 2 sets of 3-4 reps as plan was to give more time for working aspects of husafell carry. Work up in doubles with the same jumps I’ve been doing and then try to pip a little more weight in the working weight. I thought I had a better shirt for these this week (I did) but I could tell it was still sliding at spots and went shirtless after the first warm up set. I can’t say these were as explosive as I’d like through the midrange. With not using tacky, I’m needing to crush a bit more to keep it from sliding against my torso. I feel this is important as this does feel a bit like with the bigger stone. As is usually the case, I feel better on the second set as far as breathing and the pressure on the diaphragm. However, I was bit too explosive that first rep and the stone went a little forward and I got slightly off balance but went with it and adjusted between the second and third rep. The explosiveness is easier on the extension if I carry lower but the height isn’t as good. Need the height for the big stones. Cleaned up from there and got ready for the two actual events. Considering how well things have been going as far as the two events I was to do today (husafell carries and Hercules holds), I’ve been a bit surprised with the push on them. I had tried to be mindful on what would need more effort and work and consolidation of stressors. But there is a reason. And perhaps it is to keep me in a positive mindset hitting above contest weight and being comfortable with it and in control with my good events. So for husafell, the plan here was to do the event with picks from the floor. It has been a bit I kind of realized two weeks ago in hindsight. Like, last time was 2018 and that had been for a show where it was for speed and not distance so I had not even been practicing the pick and adjustment in the lap for the staggered grip. And then considering that unlike the bigger shows, odds were this was going to be plate loaded and not lead shot/chain (go to the bottom) or a solid implement. The plates moving and in big chunks could be tricky. So the plan was to work the pick and get in a good carry. Do 2 sets of 50’ to practice the pick and get some warming up in for walking and then a max distance set (but not to absolute failure). The choices were 90-110% of contest weight. Options being what I felt needed the work and what might be less stress. I feel from the past efforts that the lighter weight and longer distance was less a concern with the conditioning that has been implemented. More weight and potential fatigue from having to push myself on the previous events (this could be the third or fourth event) I felt it probably made more sense to work heavier to factor in the fatigue. Additionally, with the empty implement being 150lbs, I could do 90lbs jumps and get it to 330lbs easy. It is a bit awkward with the pick and try to keep from “panicking” with how it feels and such but got to keep calm and recall I’ve done this many times before. I didn’t use any chalk for the two 50’ runs and I was able to set it down gently as well. A little hard to gauge where I was for this but I felt that I needed to do over 200’ for this to really be a good test of things. I had assistance with a drop tire from Andrew (also doing this show in my weight class). I knew I had 150’ before the tire was even a consideration. I got set and picked and got the grip and went. I knew I had 200’ and 250’ was going to be the tough one. Aim was 250’ at that point and then make the turn and go 5’ more and stop under control. I feel if I kept going, I’d been shy of 300’ but definitely had another 20’ in me I think. I had also adjusted how I wrapped my arms with tape here so there was more ability to breathe and have my wrist mobile with more wrapping but the edges on this metal implement still dig into the skin. Last thing was Hercules holds. This had been the main reason I had tried to get out to train earlier (besides also getting used to it for contest with 10AM start) to make sure there were enough hands on deck to assist. Again, pretty much everyone gone. It wasn’t for naught as I was early enough to have some people still here that if I had shown up 30 minutes later I’d been SOL. So plan here was to work up in sets of 5 seconds as needed to 320lbs per hand for a set of 40-60 seconds. Again, not to absolute failure. This is also over contest weight. Also note was to stretch out my chest and biceps after husafell. Almost forgot but did a few door way stretches. I was more focused on making sure people were here. I had had to ask the people in the early morning to leave out the setup before they were finished tearing down so I didn’t have to get it out and put it away by myself as usual. Andrew was familiar with assist but there was only one other person who was and it wasn’t fair due to height for them to do it solo so we had to get a third person to assist here. Surprisingly, this was probably the best coordination and handoffs I’ve had on this all year (and only few sessions were on par last year to these). I was initially going to do 230lb and 280lbs for set of 5 seconds because I wasn’t sure if just a 5 second hold would be enough for warming up with going up 90lbs but after seeing the amount of effort and setup needed, I just went right to 320lbs rather than do another brief hold. I should be good. I had to explain that I was doing specific warming up protocol after the last one being such a short hold haha. I got set and locked in and took the strain. I’ve been so used to having to really brace one side or the other to keep from being tossed around that this was surprisingly uneventful. I was kind of surprised I got to a minute (and slightly past that really if including time to hit timer and after the beeps). I probably could’ve pushed things closer to 75 seconds on this. Thumbs quite sore after this. The weights really had the setup jump up a bit after I let go and have things off kilter that I kind of stumbled back off the platform. Always a very visual end to the event. Thankful again to have people to help me set this thing up. Put stuff away with assistance and decided after cleaning up and drinking a shake to just drive home since it was dead quiet and just get home to take care of possible chores and have some white noise while stretching out.