March 4, 2023 – Week 19, Day 4

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

Bulgarian Split Squats with Rotation
bwx10/10
bwx10/10

Paused Safety Squat Bar Squats (3 seconds)
65x3
115x3
155x3
205x3
245x3
245x3
245x3
245x3
245x3

Sandbag Load Over Bar (62.5”)
175x1
175x1
175x1
175x1
225x1
225x1
225x1
225x1

Backward Sled Drags
195x3 minutes
195x3 minutes
195x3 minutes

Calf Raises (3 seconds stretch)
bw+50x20

Stretching
 
Comments: Rained like crazy the day before after it got to the afternoon. Once I had gotten this workout plan, I knew I wasn’t going out to the gym in Lancaster to train. Sleep in, relax and just do stuff on my own pace at home. Key is recovery and getting things rested. I can tell I’m feeling it beyond just aches and such. Getting muscle tremors and sometimes catch my heart beating a little faster thinking about the upcoming competition. Hard to focus on work. The Arnold happening also didn’t help that haha. Really wanted to be there competing this year but just didn’t pull it off despite best showing at Nationals so far. So later afternoon start to training today. Piriformis in the left side was feeling a bit tense so I decided to do some dip station traction to help get back feelings not so compressed. Feeling less discomfort in the hip but still present. I should be good by contest, or enough that it won’t be a problem I can mostly block out. Especially since I could do stuff with it aggravated. But man would I like to be feeling like nothing is bothering me when I compete as then I could be at ease. Well as at ease as I can be with competing. Hip airplanes to start things off. Been a bit since I’ve done them at home. I had stuff kind of setup for stuff later so I had to do these in a little different a setup as usual. Last time I did these at home I was resting between sides and sets. Not now, just right into the next one. Didn’t feel bad. Just one set. Next was Bulgarian split squats with rotation. 2 sets of 5-10 reps. I had not liked these last week and was kind of surprised they showed up again. However, it does appear I misread what I was to be rotating last time (I had gone by the video and not the description). I wasn’t to rotate my torso, I was to rotate the back leg as I moved. Still not terribly pleasant but much more tolerable. Not like a burning pain. Rotating the left leg wasn’t feeling great. Doing the split squat to that leg was also not great. I think coupled with the irritation/inflammation in the hip flexor or whatever (maybe disc) and just how that leg tends to have issues with knee stability since 2021 makes thing tougher. I also think that I tend to not be that good with the split squat stuff when I don’t do it often and as one of the first things. The second set run through felt better. Then it was squats. I was a tad nervous here. Last week these felt terrible working up. Feeling it in my spine and knee joints. Plan here was to do 50-55% for 5x3 with longer rests and pauses of 1-3 seconds. I was advised I could lower the percentage and increase up to 5ct pauses as needed. Idea was to get some movement and prime stones. I will say these felt less like they were bothering my knees and spine this week. I was very cautious with what stuff was feeling like. 245lbs felt like the easiest thing as far as warming up and setting up with 40-50lbs jumps. First set didn’t feel great. I was holding my breath too much and was feeling like I was going to black out reracking it. I guess I’m really anxious. Blood pressure could be elevated from discomfort, stress and from allergy meds. I didn’t have that issue for any of the other sets or anything else the session. Second set I was worried as I felt a cramping session in the left glute. So I was on guard for that as well. Third set felt perfect and the sets after that felt not quite so. I took a bit of break here so that I could get some fluids in me. The next thing was going to require some setup so I felt that it was the perfect time to see how the new viking press setup would need to be done in the backyard. It is probably a good idea I messed with it now on an deloaded week and session when it was nice and sunny outside. Had to adjust stuff in the backyard (position of my yoke and rubber stall mat). I had to move the viking press out of the way to get the light yoke moved into the garage. Viking press appears to be 24lbs empty in hand and anything I add to the loading pin is about 63.5% of the weight. So 45lbs is 29lbs added. By my math, I cand get it just about 400lbs in hand. Will have to see how it holds up. Anyways, after that testing, it was on to sandbag loads. Really could also do plate rows or band gms if I felt those would better serve me. Get blood flow and hip hinge. For sandbag, I was to load over much higher bar to work extension and could do singles on my own time with a 200lbs sandbag. I don’t have a 200lbs sandbag so I elected to start off with 175lbs over the highest I could make the crossbar for the yoke. Taking my time with setting my grip to pick and lap and then going for a violent hip extension. I took really short rests (like less than EMOM) and decided after 4 essentially tosses of the sandbag that I’d go up to 225lbs since that was a bit more compact a bag. I mean, 225lbs and 175lbs evens out to 200lbs average haha. Took a little bit to put stuff away here. Again, giving myself time to get fluids in before doing another thing. Option here was sled drags or belt squat marches. Belt squat marches seemed like a bad idea so backwards sled drag it was. 3 sets of 3 minutes with 1 minute rest between sets at RPE 6-7. Thankfully it was nice out unlike yesterday. I had planned for backwards treadmill pushing if it was terrible as backup. I was hoping I could do enough distance to make a loop around the block but I didn’t get nearly far enough on that first set (probably didn’t help bumping into a parked car with my rear) and decided halfway into the second set to turn around rather than try and complete the loop. It was a good call as I was still a few feet shy of my house driveway on that third set. Left leg was having a harder time recovering after that. Knee felt like it wanted to give walking down the driveway when my quad was so fatigued. Had slight cramping in the left calf getting my shoes off for the last thing, calf raises. Both quads were feeling sore sitting down. But I know this is what happens when. But maybe the more so the left side is indicative of the discomfort too. Last thing was calf raises. Just one set of 15-20 reps at RPE 6-7. With how my calves were feeling, I thought maybe bodyweight would be fine with 3 second stretches each rep. But ended up adding weight in a backpack to get it in the right range. Put stuff away and ended up stretching and ordering burritos as it was a bit late to start cooking a roast and I’d only had breakfast. Ice knees later. Only two more training sessions left.