June 21, 2023 – Week 15, Day 2

Lower Body Banded Deadbugs (3 second holds)/Bird Dogs (3 second holds)
mbx10/10 – bwx10/10
mbx10/10 – bwx10/10

Heel Elevated Goblet Squats
15x15
15x15

Band Goodmornings
lbx20
lbx20

T-Spine Reaches/Banded Lat Stretches (5 seconds contract/stretch)
bwx10/10 – lbx30/30 seconds
bwx10/10 – lbx30/30 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: Work was dumb this week so far. By that I mean I can do work but the office was experiencing internet issues most of Tuesday and Wednesday. Just another reason why working from home is better in that I use my own internet and don’t have these system problems. Just gave everyone portable devices to make it easier for offsite people to work onsite but don’t think to do the reverse when something like this happens. Just a lot of frustrating stupid stuff. Promises being only as good as the person that makes them and as long as they are there. Otherwise lol to that. But trying to not be dragging into stupid stuff with competition this weekend. Off work Friday (I’ve done Monday if I had known back in December it would be two days and that I’d have to come into the office Tuesday all day). Also have like 6 days off in July besides the 4th as well. They going to miss Craig for a bit. Most time I’ve taken off since I had to stay home for like a week due to the flu and being on jury duty. I know my work won’t get done while I’m out and if it does, likely will be done all wrong. But enough of that. Thinking about contest and then training after that. I am noticing having a harder time concentrating on going over the motions in my head while I’m out walking or going to bed like I sometimes have done. I did that a good bit near the end of last prep for PA Dutch. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still focused in my own way. Had a dream about showing up and stones were in a crater in the parking lot and I went to test lift it. Also stopped to double check that my registration was up to day (it’s good through 2025 haha). This workout was kind of a combination of things as usually there is a lower body workout and then sometimes another light upper body workout. Keep things moving and not getting tight and stiff. I think part of it is the stress built up the last week peaking and because I will need to travel the day before. First thing was a superset I’ve done before in some capacity but not exactly. Deadbugs and bird dogs supersetted has been a thing I’ve done for mobility stuff at times even when not programmed. Find it is a good way to get the core and lower body active and safe. The change being more reps even with holds and the deadbugs being done with a band on the non-moving side. Drew was the example for the video. The deadbugs were tough with the band being part of it. Definitely the hardest exercise of the session and the past three workouts before this. Bird dogs were easy. Had a slight interruption from my parents stopping by so I got a little bit longer rest before finishing up the second round. But I wasn’t too bummed as those deadbugs were challenging. Next was goblet squats. Option was light weight or bodyweight and heels elevated if I felt like it. I felt like doing some weight and elevating the heels made the most sense. No knee sleeves (or any support gear) to get things moving and seeing how my joints felt. Plan being RPE 3 2x10-15. Took really short break between sets. Felt better as I went. Kind of the same thing with the band goodmornings. I’ve done strong bands on these before and still felt they were easy but sticking to lower stuff just to get things moving. Getting the band around the neck and off the neck would be the most taxing thing and it would be for the shoulders if anything. Again, RPE 3 for 2 sets but more reps. Got done quick here. Last thing was upper body mobility. The t-spine rotations and paired with banded lat stretches. I’ve not done more than one set of the t-spine rotations so wasn’t sure how those would feel. Lot of snaps and pops that first set and reps. Shoulders were feeling tense on the lat stuff. No real difference in the t-spine stuff second round other than no pops and lats/shoulders seemed better on the stretches. Put stuff away and stretched before cooking dinner. The work is done. Just need to show up.

June 19, 2023 – Week 15, Day 1

Bottom Up Kettlebell Presses/Dumbbell Pullovers (3 seconds stretch)/Cobra Stretches (5/15)
15’sx10/20x10/bwx3

Standing Dumbbell Presses (neutral grip)
40’sx8
40’sx8
40’sx8

Band Rows
ab’sx20
ab’sx20

Overhand Band Pullaparts/Band Dislocates/Underhand Band Pullaparts
mbx15/mbx10/mbx15

Overhead Band Triceps Extensions
µb’sx30

Stretching
 
Comments: Managed to sleep in Sunday and do recovery stuff. But would need to be up and do stuff so that I could wake up early for Monday. Not for work but to do stuff. My friends wanted to have early lunch at a place so I made that work. Food was good but not what I’d usually eat for a midday meal. I tend to feel a little off when I do and save the more substantial stuff for my dinner so I can afford to feel a little more full. But I made the best of that and attempted to get myself feeling ready to train about my usual time. Light stuff for this week and I think only two workouts since leaving Friday to go out to the competition. Things ended up going pretty quickly. I was initially thinking of doing stuff outside but I figured that I could still fit in the garage even if it was overhead stuff being done. Mobility stuff that has been standard for the viking press of pressing/pullovers/stretch were back to doing in that order as it was just one run through of everything. Definitely notice a difference in the stretch from doing them after the first two exercises vs doing it first. Next was pressing. Choices were to do standing dumbbell pressing with neutral grip or to use swiss bar with chaos band weights. Something that was a strict press that was easy but required some stability needs. Since the primary was the dumbbells and much easier to setup and go through with it I went with those. 40lbs dumbbells fit the bill. Only to be like RPE 3. Plan being 3x6-8 with 2-3mins rest. It took a bit to make myself take that long of rest for how easy these felt. But the left shoulder was feeling a bit crunchy as it were. Maybe just how things are feeling or maybe trying to get a slice of sweet potato that slid under the oven was more effort than I should’ve expended the day before. Things felt easier as I went. I held the lockout a little on the last rep of the second and third set. I wasn’t exactly going straight up and down; trying to keep things in the viking press plan and have my back and hips in the same position. That was it for weights for the session and the rest of it was just bands. Band rows. 2x15-20 at RPE 3-5. Average bands have worked here before. Anchor point of my dip stand would also work for this tension. I was initially just kind of doing them to do them but I did start to change up hand position and treat it similar to how I do with inverted rows with having it more of an arc row motion that isn’t rigid and is a bit more 3-d in approach as far as the back muscles and the rotation of shoulders. Got a little bit of a pump in the arms on the second set. Probably from taking shorter rests. Pull aparts with the bands after that. These it was noted to do with a micro or mini. Indication was to do two sets of 15 reps with the first overhand and the second underhand grip. But to do band dislocates for 10 reps between. So really like a circuit. The pull aparts were quick with the ROM and the dislocates took longer due to the ROM. The dislocates felt good on the shoulders. The left shoulder was feeling a little tense/cranky on the pull aparts. So not too pleased with that but hopefully rest and soft tissue work I’ll be good by show time. Last thing was triceps with bands. Again, indicated to be mini or micro here. Just one set of 20-30 reps. I went with the micros here. Felt like nothing (once I got the hand position figured out) and was good. I got through this workout really quick at just under 20 minutes. Put stuff away and stretched before eating a roast. One more training session and short (and hopefully less stressful) week of work to go.

June 17, 2023 – Week 14, Day 4

Sandbag Tosses (10’ away)
30x1
30x1
35x1
40x1
30x1/35x1/40x1
30x1/35x1/40x1

Banded GHD Back Extensions (around neck, doubled)
abx5
abx5
abx5

One Legged Kettlebell Romanian Deadlifts (opposite side)
44x5/5
70.5x12/12
70.5x12/12

Banded Step Ups with TKEs (12” box)
lbx15/15
lbx15/15

Hip Harness Backwards Tire Drags
148x125’ (60 seconds)

Stretching
 
Comments: So a positive at this time I think is that I’m handling my rage quit day much better I think than when it happened leading up to Nationals. Granted that was little further out but I skipped a workout entirely which I’ve only done once because I fractured my elbow in 2021 and didn’t have an alternative program setup on such short notice. But I was feeling better stress wise but even when you admit it out loud, there is still recoil. Like a slight eye twitch and having a lot of tension/pressure in the upper back and neck. You also tend to notice all the little things going on with your body from pretty much pushing things for 6 months straight. I worked through lunch at work to kind of get things on track and keep a good pace going as it was going to be a three-day weekend and I’d only be working 3 days next week (still going to be stressful). Trying to keep a balance by just shutting things down when my time ends and starts with work. Maintenance needed for the upkeep. Had a nice walk after work with it raining just a little. Made sure I got a decent amount of soft tissue work done and had a large and tasty Mississippi roast for dinner. Weather was to be good the next day so I was fine with sleeping in for this short training session planned. I didn’t really want to drive out but I had reason to related to sandbag. Any plans I had of sleeping in past my work time were disrupted by my neighbor’s deciding that 8AM on a Saturday was the perfect time to have their crappy fence replaced. Drive out wasn’t to be that bad as no construction but there was still that congestion around the usual area. Even though I got up earlier, I kind of took my time getting ready to get thoughts on paper and get affairs in order and plans as far as what I still needed to do for this week. I ended up being there on the tail end for most of the people leaving. I did get to see some friendly dogs so that was a plus. No split squats to warm up. Right into bag toss. I did do some warming up beyond what I’ve been doing with the kettlebell weights on the knees and modified Cossack squat stretch. Some hand assisted split squats and stretch. I’ve kind of been against static stretching at the start of training because it can dampen contractile force but there is a trade off in that it can allow for better positioning and movement. Got bag toss setup. I had driven out because two reasons; one to return the 30lbs toss bag so that people training for upcoming shows with that can use it to warm up and the other being that if I felt good with bag toss that I could go heavier and test things out. Bag toss options were to either do 6x1 EMOM or to do 2x3 with 80-100% of the first three bags in the medley at the show. See how I felt but if I did do 2x3, it would be the lower end as I didn’t want to go over 40lbs here. Either was fine. I wanted to do it on this setup as well since the video for the demonstration showed that the bags would be going left to right as opposed to right to left like how I’ve usually trained things. Not a big difference but that way was not an automatic action for me comparatively. Especially since during one of the early weeks when I was testing all the different positions, running from the left side out was the worst variation for me. Either option would get some practice in (could get more run ups with the singles but wouldn’t get any transition practice done). So I did the run outs for all tosses beyond the warming up stuff I did. That first toss I felt off and was thinking that maybe I just do 30lbs all day. I was slow on the hop back and my lower body felt stiff. I rested a bit and went at it again and this time it was on point so I moved on from there. Did singles for the other two bags in the planned series and set things up. I was tempted to bug someone for assistance but decided it wasn’t worth it. First run I hit the support leg on the left side with the first bag on the hop back and swing with the sand bag. No issues the other bags. Second set I did some little things to make it feel like competition. Went to each sandbag and made sure the sand was at the bottom and even and the handles were facing me. Then did a little acknowledgement of the imaginary crowd and officials (while having the audio play in my head of the call out and commands). I hesitated a little with the first bag that time and that slowed me down slightly but I made up for it with the other two bags. So that was finished and went well. Rest of the workout was more in line with the workout from Thursday as far as being light and low volume and movement focused. The next exercise was to be something that was working hip hinge. This had been the zercher band goodmorning stuff with the swiss ball. Thinking was that was too intense and would stress the upper back and traps that we want to heal up and be fresh for competition. GMs with bar on back also option but might be too much lower back stress considering how pulls went on Wednesday so the ideal exercise was back extensions with band tension for explosive reps. Either holding the band or around the neck. I figured I’d do the neck variation so as not using the arms and keep the pivot point the same. This was a lot of band tension but I could move it fast to the point of completion fast so it worked out. Wasn’t too stressful. Next thing was one leg Romanian deadlfits. Opposite loading. It has been a bit since done these. And been longer since unilateral hip hinge exercise. Especially without some way to be bracing the non-working leg. Most unilateral stuff has had less balance component lately. There was someone in the dumbbell area and I didn’t want to be around people I didn’t know so I did these with a kettlebell that was probably a better option anyways. The weight was fine (kind of surprised it was moving this easy) but balance was definitely an issue. Balance stabilizing requirement and the offloading were definitely going to recruit/wake up some stuff that had been dormant and quiet until now. Of the things I did this day, probably the most winding. Then it was more unilateral stuff but with knee extension. Step ups with TKE. I’ve usually done these lower heights but decided to do 12” box. I was allowed to do anything that emphasized gait and/or unilateral that felt good on the knees. I wanted to see how these felt on the knees. These and the rdls I did without knee sleeves. And felt fine enough without so that was good (only really wanted to wear them from the bag toss since I’ll be wearing them at contest). I think that removing one of the more intensive knee/quad stretches from the post workout routine is helping with the knee joint recovering better between sessions. Last thing was conditioning exercise of choice. Drew feels that this show doesn’t really require much in the way of sustained effort beyond the stone to shoulder and that is only a minute and I’ve already done two sessions of working the full minute and then some for both the stone and viking press. So the suggested option was just to do a minute of backwards sled dragging but could do longer time or do backwards treadmill pushes for like 2 sets of 5 minutes if I felt that would feel good on my knees. Seeing as how my knees were feeling good with the previous exercise, I went with the sled drag option. But using the tire sled so the friction made it hard to go fast. Hope being that I wouldn’t run out of space to get 60 seconds of work done. Managed to get that done and I felt fine after the 60 seconds. I’ve done a good bit of these and my tolerance has improved a good bit. Almost relaxing at this point. Tire ended up weighing a good bit more than I thought it did. I ended up talking the ear off Andrew before I started stretching and then did the same to George when he showed up after I finished up stretching. Got home and my new credit card had arrived so I spent like an hour getting stuff setup and stuff switched over before spending an even with my family. Iced knees before bed.

June 15, 2023 – Week 14, Day 3

T-Spine Reaches
bwx10/10

Andrew Lock Shoulder Big 3’s
10’sx10-10-10

Single Band Arm Archer Rows
lbx15/15
lbx15/15

Chaos Band Push-ups
bwx10
bwx10
bwx10

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions
µbx25/25
µbx25/25

Bretzel Stretches
30/30 seconds
30/30 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: As the past post would indicate, it hadn’t been a good week or day up to this point for me. Very stressed and irritable and then bad stuff happened all at once. The frustration such that I had the conversation in my head about dropping out of the competition and retiring from competing. Been a bit since I did that. About the same time as far as being out from Nationals when I had those feelings and I managed to have my best placing there ever by a good bit. So I guess recovering from that relies on my gaslighting myself. Only way I can see it as me still doing this when I’ll read of people saying that they are too beat up after this much time or need to take PEDs to get anywhere. And here I am trudging along drug free. Refusing to accept that this is my best and I’ve yet to peak. But it does have me taking a step back to look at things and potentially reconsider how things are done. I continue to be good at my good events but the gap with my bad events despite improvements seems to grow. And I seem to have to do more stuff to combat joint issues for the neck, shoulders and knees. Or at least having to be me more cognizant of them (like sleeping a certain way for the neck). Like having a high reliance on knee sleeves at this point for things like squats. But not sure what the solution to that is. As far as thoughts going into this competition, I feel that I’m where I can be as far as things like stone, bag toss, frame and Hercules hold. Press I have no idea as it has been going off of estimates from calculations rather than “real weight” so that I think is the most concerning for me as I feel like it isn’t anywhere good enough. Deadlift I knew I’d be behind and while improvement, I don’t feel it is enough here either to hit my goal with how the last session felt. Putting down the words of the thoughts so that maybe acknowledging those things in a way lessens the stress burden I hold inside myself and gives me some power/control of that. As might be expected, the remaining training sessions have been lowered in intensity so that I can recover in all aspects. There seems to be a trend where about 2 weeks out that my stress hits a detrimental limit and need to work on that as far as dropping the stress of sessions so that I can stay as optimal as I can with the work/training/life balance. This workout was listed as optional because of the blow up and idea was more to keep movement and blood flow stuff but to focus on getting myself to feel healthy in aspects not measured by weight lifted. I felt it was important to do some moving around and as an indicator that I can move forward with things. T-spine rotation to start things off. Not a change from before here. Still feel good. I might have done an extra rep on one side by mistake as distracted and focusing on just feel rather than a number. Lock Big 3 up next. No holds beyond just a brief one so I was able to do these with minimal rest between the different angles/lifts and stick to the same weight and reps. A variation of band row was next. This was kind of a different version of the alternating band rows. Idea being keeping thoracic mobility good. Split stance and rowing with rotation but keeping it to the upper body and core. No hip shifts. I think I got the hang of it. It was a little tricky to focus on all aspects and I think I got better as I went for the second set, like actively reaching with the other hand to increase the stretch. Moving on to chaos band push-ups. This took the longest of setting up but that was on me. These were to be 2-3x10-15 at low RPE (everything was to be RPE 3-5) and I usually when I do these use multiple bands so I can have a set point and not worry about the bands sinking under my weight so much. But I wanted to have just one band so that there was maximum wobble for the stability purposes. So I needed to set the band a lot higher than usual to get things set up and that was some trial and error. With how these felt, I stuck to 3x10 here. Felt better as I went. Only exercise I took actual break between sets (like 90 seconds). Triceps after that with bands. Single arm overhead stuff but no stretch component. Notes indicated to do 2x15-25 and use a micro band so as it is like nothing. I elected to play around with the hand position since the band tension was so light and even with a thin band, it didn’t put pressure/cut into my hand. Did the first set pronated and the second set supinated. To put emphasis on different heads of the triceps. Last thing was a stretch I’ve not done. I guess kind of but not this way. I had to relook at it a few times to get it in my head the picture of how this would go. I guess this was a combo of thoracic, hip and glute stretch. ROM increased a good bit by the second round. Put stuff away and got started on dinner. Workout took less than 30 minutes. Stretched before bed as well. Just need to get through Friday and then I got a longer weekend and a short week of work as taking off Friday to travel out to competition.

June 14, 2023 – Week 14, Day 2

13” Axle Jack Stand Pulls (straps)
115x2
205x2
295x2
385x2
455x1
525x1
575x1

Dimel Deadlifts (straps)
225x3
275x3
315x12

Paused Safety Squat Bar Squats (2 seconds)
65x3
115x3
155x3

Comments: This didn’t go well. I was more stressed out than I thought I was and it just all came to surface during training. I had a half day of work because I had to reschedule a dentist appointment for this time as they no longer were open until 6PM anymore and if I wanted one later in the day, it would have to be right before Thanksgiving. The appointment only takes about an hour but with how stressed I am at work, it didn’t feel conducive to come back to work. Probably for the best as when I got out of the dentist I had a text about a family member dealing with a medical emergency. So I was a bit distracted. Then I tried get gas as on E and pump said my account was closed. So called my back card and it was locked again. But for good reason. As it appears while I was training Saturday that someone tried to buy over $2000 in merchandise from Bloomingdales. Thankfully no of those transactions were approved. But that means I don’t have a card while I wait for a new one since this one is now compromised. Already waiting on credit card which hasn’t shown up yet. So cash poor at the moment. I did some mobility stuff for the knees and hamstrings before getting things setup. I was really considering not doing the workout as I had not eaten my usual meals and was really stressed but I felt some relief with getting the card situation figured out and set to do the workout. Even if I didn’t really understand it. See this is the last pull session and for some reason it was the heaviest of the cycle. Essentially working up to something that about my 2nd attempt. It has seemed to work with stuff in the past but I feel that I do better if the heaviest session isn’t as close. The times where I feel it did work out was more because showed up to the contest and the pick height was increased by 3” from what I was training. But every training cycle is an adjustment on what is too much and what is not enough. Plan was work up to three singles to act like my attempts but one spot removed and then a triple with about 10% less weight. I was feeling pretty good. Taking plate jumps as might be similar to contest warming up doing doubles. Then adjusted for singles. First true pull being 525lbs. It felt fine. 575lbs was next. I got set and I was expecting it to feel good. It didn’t feel as easy as I wanted it to. It was tough enough that 625lbs didn’t make sense to attempt. I could’ve got it but what was the point if it was a near max or max effort when the show is in 10 days? So I just decided to stay there and treat it like I did my opener and called it. So not in a good frame having to make that adjustment. Even when necessary, it eats at me making changes to the plan as written and not by accident. So next thing was dimel deadlifts. No bands. Workout up to 315lbs for a set of 6-12 reps as long as low effort and snappy. There was the option to do iso pulls with the singles and then not do these but I knew it would take way too much setup for it and I felt it was going to be too much to recover from. Bands just seem to feel better on these for me. But I did them and that was that. Then it was time for paused squats with the ssb. This was another one I wasn’t really understanding. Especially with how sharp things seemed to drop on squat stuff the last training cycle when I had hit my limit stress and weight wise from other stuff. This was to be slightly more weight than last week as written for 3x3 with 1-2ct pauses but it did indicate to autoregulate so that things felt good. Like change up the exercise and lower weight. I was already planning to do like 50lbs less than what was written just because I felt like I had gone too heavy two weeks ago on these and just wasn’t seeming to recover on these with other stuff. I was feeling ok warming up on these. But then I got to 205lbs and just felt like more than I wanted to deal with on my back and reracked it. And then proceeded to have a tantrum hit the trashcan with my belt and knock over stuff. At one point chucking a 25lbs plate. Just a lot of emotions boiling up about everything. At that point the workout was done, not going to try and push through this and didn’t think it was wise to do the accessory stuff when I needed to get my head right and recover. I did some decompression for my back (I was holding a lot of tension) and put stuff away and laid on the ground for a bit to calm down. No stretching, just going to drink my dinner (protein shake) as it would take too long to cook up dinner and I knew I needed sleep. I did get news that my family member was checked out and doing better as well as had week review with my coach and training is now focused on getting myself recovered and centered for the competition. Went to bed really early for me to get much needed rest. To calm my fevered brain as my dad would say.

June 12, 2023 – Week 14, Day 1

Cobra Stretches (5/15)/Bottom Up Kettlebell Presses/Dumbbell Pullovers (3 seconds stretch)/Cobra Stretches (5/15)
bwx3/15’sx10/20x10/bwx3

Sandbag Tosses (Bottle Drill)
30x1
30x1
30x1
30x1
30x1
30x1

Viking Presses w/ bands (strict, facing away, hands 11” down handles, +17lbs/25lbs)
empty(26)x2
+45(59)x2
+90(92)x2
+135(125)x1
+180(158)x1
+200(172.5)x1
+225(191)x1
+250(209)x1
+225(191)x2
+225(191)x4
+202.5(174)x4
+202.5(174)x4

Swiss Bar Chest Supported Rows
110x3
162x3
214x3
264x8
264x8

Defranco Band Pullaparts (2 second holds)
mbx15
mbx15

Incline Band Tate Presses (1 second holds)
lbx5
lb+(4)mbx4/lb+(3)mbx5/lb+(2)mbx5/lb+mbx6

Stretching
 
Comments: Even when I’m aware of the upcoming changes to my routine, it is still stressful, even when it is something I want to do. Like visiting family. It cases me stress and I don’t like that it does but it doesn’t seem to be something that I can completely resolve. Just like how I can’t stop the nerves from coming when competing even though I’ve done over 40 competitions over more than a decade. And when upcoming things arise, little annoyances seem to magnify and intensify how they affect me. I feel that I’m becoming more aware of this in the past two years. Monday at work was dumb and never seeming to get caught up. Rain storm was here most of the day and I unfortunately had things I needed to do outside for training. I was trying to think how best to “water proof” things and rationalizing that I’d only need the viking press setup for this workout likely. But waiting it out seemed the best thing as the rain did stop and it didn’t come back. There were some nerves going into this week of training. I’m tired and I worry this is too much to be at my best at the show. It has seemed to work out for me with these peaks. Sometimes how the body feels is a lie. Mobility stuff same as last week with it being reduced and I kept it to being the sandwich. Can really tell how stiff stuff is that first set of cobra poses and how things loosen up for the second round of it. Outside for the bag toss drill. Stuck to 30lbs and bottle drill. Don’t want to be overdoing things. Goal being 6-8 tosses. Went with less.  I didn’t feel satisfied with how they were feeling until the last two. First was just a little soft touch and the next two had good power but I was launching myself forward which means energy lost upward. Fourth toss got a little sideways with uneven release. Keeping this light and just trying to get things lose for the hip snatch and drive. And getting my ankles to help out. Viking press yet again and a strict press week. I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a heavy day focus or not but figured it would be something like 80%. Not quite. It seemed the plan was to work up to a top set of 3-4 reps working up in doubles and then singles. Something leaving 1RIR. Oh and with bands. I hadn’t quite thought about how to setup bands on this setup as it isn’t as straightforward as the barbell rig I used when facing the weight. I initially thought I had a good setup that had a band for each side with me standing on the bands linked together. It felt like a decent amount of tension and it would be fully added to weight in hand vs the weight on the arm calucation. It felt tough but I was still moving the weight. So I initially was thinking that I’d probably need to do 225lbs added and got set for it and the single was easy so I thought too light so I went for 250lbs added, thinking the 225lbs would be the down sets (2x4). I got set and it felt like the false start situation I had with the push pressing last week. I reset and got a rep with it but when I went for the second I could tell this was a big nope. Great. So dropped it back down to 225lbs and went at that and I got two reps before getting stuck going for the third with the implement wanting to tip to the left. Partially my fault as I used the big bumper plates as I was worried about the rain. I realized that the setup with the bands wasn’t working out as the bands would move and twist. So after making an adjustment, I had no further issues with the exercise. Other than a lot of pressure on body doing these and having to steady myself after the set until lightheadedness went away. Just annoyed that I felt I was screwing everything up with the missed reps this close to competition. So I was a bit frustrated with heavy training this close and new variation on an exercise I had not experienced really with. But that could just be a me thing and letting the stress affect me more than usually does. I left stuff out so I could move on as I felt I had added a lot of time to the session with this band pain. I knew the rain wasn’t coming back. Garage work to finish things up. Chest supported rows with the swiss bar. Indication was 2x6-8 RPE 6-7, leave 4RIR. I was annoyed with the pressing and just did the same weights I did as last week on these and did 2x8. Hands and arms were feeling Saturday training. I ended up pausing the last rep in the stretch before going for it. I think partly to not have things be sloppy and to kind of reset. Defranco band pullaparts replaced the lateral raises. 2x12-15 with 4-5RIR and 2 second holds. I’ve done Defrancos for a lot of reps and volume before and but not with holds. I wasn’t sure how those would go but I figured that I could tolerate a mini band. That did seem to work out right for these. Last thing was the band incline tate presses. Drop set but limited to 15-20 reps to have that be the reduction in intensity. So still with multiple bands. Again, annoyed with things and did one warm up to try and speed things up as it was already late waiting for the storm to pass. Started with the same bands as last week and made sure that I didn’t screw things up with position and have bands slide off the back of the bench. I was successful in that regard. Managed to increase reps here and able to stick to more than the light band for the end of it. Put stuff away as I started to cook dinner. Stretched and iced my knees before bed. I need to get things under control.

June 10, 2023 – Week 13, Day 4

Bulgarian Split Squats with Rotation
bwx5/5
17.5’sx15/15

Sandbag Tosses
30x1
35x1
40x1
45x1
40x1
45x1
40x1
50x1
40x1
50x1

Frame Carries
Titan Fitness (16”)
Casual Pace, Drop and Turns Halfway
115x100’
Makeshift (18”)
Normal, Reverse Start
276x50’
376x25’
476x25’
BiggDogg Strongg (20”, 1.5” handles)
568x25’
Normal
628x25’
Drop and Turns Halfway
700x100’ in 24.73 seconds
Hold
630x45.80 seconds
Normal, Reverse Start
568x25’

Atlas Stone to Shoulders
205x1
235x1
265x1
290x6

Atlas Stone Roll-ups to Shoulders
235x2+1
235x2+1

Stretching
 
Comments: This has been an odd week for sure. With the air pollution warnings. My Friday afternoon to late evening wasn’t great. With work, the higher ups (not sure who, but it feels like the one manager), is making the monthly unit meeting (which has been cancelled every month since March) to be in person going forward. So that will mean having to spend all day at the office for that day and not schedule any work to be done. I’ve never felt any meeting couldn’t have been an e-mail. It’s a bit aggravating as this being bundled as a training which I’m the only person that is compliant on it. I think my added frustration with that is that the first one is Tuesday after I get back from competing. Regionals had been a one day show when I requested leave (to guarantee based off seniority, I have to request all leave I want during the 2nd week of December of the previous year). Now granted, it does sound like the second day will move quickly (not sure I want that with the planned events though) so I should hopefully have enough time to recover. But having to plan for potentially an additional hour into my schedule for the morning commute is not something I want to contemplate right now. The other thing was dealing with a card issue. A purchase I made on Friday got flagged as suspicious and my card was locked. But I wasn’t made aware of it by my bank. It wasn’t until I got hungry after dinner and tried to order a pizza. 45 minutes on hold to maybe have gotten that resolved. I say maybe because it seems to be taking time for the different things to be affected. But it does seem the suspicious purchase (4 plantar fascia inserts and turmeric based supplement) went through this morning. I was ready to have to call first thing in the morning about it if still an issue displaying. Plan was to get out to train a bit on the earlier side to get back and take care of some things as plan was to go visit family Sunday. Turns out there were soft plans for this evening as well so that added some urgency as well. There was still construction. I was initially thinking it was due to the air quality issue the previous few days but then I remembered it was supposed to finish up 6/5/23. Turns out they announced they were doing more in the same area on 6/8/23 to be from 6/9/23 to 6/12/23. Ugh. So about an hour drive out there. So much for showing up earlier. It felt warmer than it should. Mobility stuff I’ve been doing for the knees and hips and hamstrings. Been feeling important to do with my knees and hips feeling stiff at this point. Start of workout was Bulgarian split squats with rotation of back leg. Single set instead of two this week. I felt comfortable enough to add some weight to these. Didn’t feel too bad. Sandbag work next. I’m starting to have some momentum on these the past two weeks now. This session was to be the lighter week. I did voice some concerns on recovery as far as having things still be heavier the next session. I do seem to be recovering well enough from tosses though. This was to work on singles and the post-activation potentiation effect. Essentially, take advantage of me going heavier on singles. To a toss, go up in weight and toss and then drop back down. Try to get the form the same and potentially have better tosses then with the heavier weights after coming back to them. I decided to not worry about the running out here and just focus on the swing. I was feeling good and then I did 40lbs and it just felt ok. Same with 45lbs (got good height but poor distance). I was thinking, great, going to be one of those days. 40lbs felt about the same but then the second toss with the 45lbs was perfect. Ok, halfway but now alternating the 40lbs and the 50lbs. First pairing was meh but the last one was again like with the 45lbs. It might have been my best toss with 50lbs. Like 16’ might not be a pipe dream to aim for with this at Nationals. After I was done, someone else ended up doing bag toss and the missing 5lbs showed up. I’m not 100% certain but what might have been the case is that the 40lbs sandbag was 45lbs last week and this week. I can’t confirm this so I’m leaving the numbers as I’ve put. If this was the case, definitely is good news for potential here. Time for frame work. I was sweating a good bit by this point really. Like, a bit too much. Being out in the sun can really sap you. So this was a little up to me as far as how I went with things. Warm up the same as I have been doing but for the working weight I was to either do a contest run or to do two 50’ runs but start facing the other way so that I had to incorporate the turn around and go aspect. I was initially leaning towards the later as I knew that my lower body was feeling fatigue. I was to use 95-102.5% of contest. I decided to do the contest run and see if I could beat my time with 700lbs. But I would work up with doing the facing away starts to practice that. Low effort, high yield. I’ll need to remember this for next time I end up doing a drop and turn event as part or working up. Put the hand towels on the handles once I got outside with the big frame. Knees were doing fine so that was good. I was a little concerned with the last warm up because there was a woman outside the one place out there feeding her baby and I had to make sure she was aware I’d be making a loud noise and if she wanted me to wait and she said she was fine. With the top set, I think the entire time I was thinking “crap, I’m too slow”. I just couldn’t feel like I could get my legs to go faster and that I was slowing down on the second leg. I didn’t feel like the terrain was affecting me like last time. Just my legs and hips were toast. I was thinking I was like 30 seconds here so I was quite shocked to see that it was under 25 seconds and beat my previous time by just over half a second. So I hit a training goal here. Wasn’t quite done with frame. I was to do some more grip work and the frame being out was kind of the easiest thing. I mean, I guess I could do some rolling bar hangs or d-handles. But plan was to do a challenging hold of 45-60 seconds. I tend to have a good shot for one set and then weight has to be dropped for repeat efforts. Learning that from these past two grip hold sessions and that may be the way going forward to get the work in. So dropped the weight 10% from the carry and just held on. This was even tougher than I thought it was going to be. Got a little over 45 seconds (I did have a few seconds left). Hands were sore after all this with the frame. Last thing for the session was stone work. Stone setup was a bit better and it seems like this is going to be the setup now. I guess no longer having the highest platforms. Besides the shortest, the other two are like a half inch shorter now. Just minor things that annoy me (the gremlins of inconvenience). But I wasn’t going to be in danger of smashing any more fingers getting things in a good spot to do stone to shoulder. I was tempted to stone of steel but figured that would actually take a lot longer to get warmed up and ready compared to stones. I was to warm up in singles to 90-100% contest and do a set of 60-75 seconds but not stop at time but at a made rep. Goal being 5-6 reps. I think what this was to be was to do reps and then finish a rep if time is going if close. Maybe. I was debating between doing 265lbs and 290lbs. But 265lbs was under 90%. Even if I was feeling beat. I decided to go with 290lbs. I focused on the reps part of it. I got the first two reps pretty quick but I could tell the stabilizing was taking a bit out of me so there was more rest after that. Just go until I got five reps. Fourth one was rough and I took a moment to ensure I could do a fifth rep. That breather was enough and it ended up being the easiest and best rep of the session. So of course I felt I couldn’t end on that and went for a sixth. As I was about to go, I saw a centipede crawl onto the platform and it accelerated toward me as I went to pick up the stone. Going to have to ignore that. It was an ugly rep (I wouldn’t have given it to me in a contest with not holding it long enough) and no clue if the centipede lived or not. Effort ended up being like 2 minutes and 15 seconds as opposed to 1 minute and 15 seconds. Last thing was stone roll ups but not quite. Adding a little twist to them having me do 2 roll ups and then on the third rep shoulder it. Bring weight down to 15-20% of what I did. I was fine with 235lbs. I was expecting things to be a little tough here especially how much harder 265lbs had felt just doing roll ups last time. But these were really easy. Put stuff away and stretched out before heading home. Drive home was much smoother. Plan being to ice knees twice before bed since I had family things later as well as the next day.

June 8, 2023 – Week 13, Day 3

T-Spine Reaches
bwx10/10

Andrew Lock Shoulder Big 3’s (3 second holds)
10’sx10-10-10

Close Grip Axle Floor Presses w/ Chains (+66lbs)
46x2
76x2
106x2
136x2
166x2
196x2
226x2
226x2
226x2
226x2
226x2

Banded Shoulder Extensions (3 second holds)
mb’sx15
mb’sx15

Incline Bench Dumbbell Cuban Rotations (2 second holds)
12’sx12
12’sx12

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (followed by 30 seconds stretch)
mbx15/15
mbx15/15

Stretching
 
Comments: Air still not the best. It will clear up enough by tomorrow for resumption of normal outdoor stuff for me at least. Joints were a little achy in the elbows going into this one (more so the right one). I wasn’t feeling as bad as I did at the end of the day yesterday. But I could tell some stuff is looking forward to stuff easing off to recover for the competition. Felt it was important to move through the workout quickly. Even more so than last week. Again, I put my hair in a ponytail for this session as it did seem to make the beginning stuff less hectic with hair getting in the way. Also to get used to it for contest time. T-spine rotation to start things off. This was the best these have felt for me. No discomfort at all. So that was nice. Lock Big 3 up next. As I’ve mentioned; there are sessions these feel incredibly tough and others where they do not. Haven’t really figured out a rhyme or reason but perhaps more so when I have a heavy pull session that they aren’t feeling so good. This did seem to be one of the better sessions of them with how they felt. These have been very helpful with balancing out the shoulders and getting things to feel right if something feels a little out of sorts. And I noticed that these did seem to help with additional control on the hercule hold in the shoulders. So no complaints from me on these warming up exercises. From there it was time for axle floor pressing with the chains. Maybe last of these. Not sure exactly what deload will entail. But this was adjusted to be 5x2. But same rest and the same chains with the option to add 5-10lbs to it. I went with 10lbs jump again. Figure get to essentially 225lbs on these with the chains. And these have felt pretty good for me. I was a little leery with the elbows feeling a bit more achy than usual. This is probably the first time that these have actually felt like something as far as weight. Still moving well but it wasn’t feeling like super-duper fast speed on these. I did stick to closer to EMOM style of rest on these. Even if this wasn’t peaking for a contest, this would seem to be a sign to deload a little. But kind of nice doing the speed work with more weight on the bar and with the chain weight increased compared to the first wave of these. Bands and tiny dumbbells to finish up the evening.  Again, those darn shoulder extensions for 2x12-15 with 2-3ct. Still somewhat of a challenge with the fatigue over the length of the set with the holds. But just lining things up and moving along as I can. Advised that these will be dropped for next week. Cuban rotations up next. 2x10-12 with 1-2ct holds. I had planned to add a little weight but notes during the video guidelines was keeping same weight was fine. Since that required me to spend time with setting up the dumbbell handles, I just went back to 10’s as that was just a dumbbell I could pick up and not assemble and close enough in weight and how it feels. These is still a slight impingement I get in the left shoulder when I do these kind of movements but it feels less severe as I progress. Triceps with stretch to end things. I was advised to lower the band tension to mini band or lighter. I hadn’t really planned on that as monster mini felt easy enough. This was probably the right call as I’ve been working my triceps hard this last bit of the training cycle and the reduction in band tension didn’t feel like that much really. I did try to emphasize the stretch and the angle of the tension of the movement. I had worked through this quite quickly with it taking just over 40 mins. Put stuff away (left car outside again to not worry about letting in bad air) and made dinner before stretching. Coming to the end of this.

June 7, 2023 – Week 13, Day 2

Iso Deadlifts Against Pins (straps, to 15.5”)/13” Axle Jack Stand Pulls w/ bands (straps, +26lbs/+79lbs)
No Bands
135x1 second/110x1
Add Bands
135x1 second/160x1
135x1 second/250x1
135x1 second/340x1
225x3 seconds/430x1
225x3 seconds/430x1
225x3 seconds/430x1
225x3 seconds/430x1
225x3 seconds/430x1
225x3 seconds/430x1

Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x7
155x4
205x2
245x2
295x5
295x5

Paused Seated Band Hamstring Curls (band each leg, 5 seconds holds)
lb’sx12
lb’sx12

Roman Chair Sit-ups
bwx15
bwx15

Stretching
 
Comments: This was a bit of a weird one. The day, not the training. Woke up to the sky just looking hazy. Apparently a reason for that. Wildfires in Canada and the smoke drifting down this way. I think this the first time that I’ve gotten an air quality alert warning. Supposed to get worse as it got later due to the smoke settling as the temperature dropped and should be ok for most everyone by Friday and everyone by Saturday. So I guess not the best day for training but not the worst. If this was say Saturday or even my Monday workout it would be a problem with how much outside time there would be (especially the gym being open air). I did take precautions in that I had three floor fans going to circulate air (mostly to push out) besides the light duty one near my work station and pretty much all the ceiling based fans as well when I was training. Also got another call from the people trying to schedule me for the gastroenterologist and I told them not interested as I didn't agree to this referral and I've been trying to get an answer from the doctor for going on a week now. But they know I don't want it and and said they'd make a note for my doctor about it. Sigh. Mobility warming up I did some hip/hamstring stuff similar to what I did Saturday. The plan was the contrast training protocol. Isometric pulls alternated with banded axle pull doubles. 60 seconds rest between the exercises (ended up closer to 90 seconds) and then 2-3 minutes rest after the two exercises were done. Lunch break to setup again. Probably the quickest I did it. One because I knew better and two because the not good air. I couldn’t do the iso pulls inside the garage so I did venture outside for those. But I figured that the total time would be under 10 minutes total where I’d be outside and it wasn’t all in a row either. Anyways, this got adjusted. A curve ball in how I was expect progression. What I was expecting was increase in weight, dropping sets and increasing the iso height another inch. So right partially. Only the band pulls went up in weight (not percentage based). 6x1 with 425-435lbs. Same bands I’ve been using. I wasn’t sure how they would feel after pushing singles with the bands last week. Maybe I’m used to, maybe I struggle. The iso pulls increased in sets too and the pull height was increased 2” from last time. Weight was dropped back down a bit (205-225lbs). Notes being the decrease was due to increasing the sets again. Maybe this combo is working. On the iso pulls, it does look like I’m budging my rack slightly on the initial pull (225lbs and pulling into over 780lbs). They felt like I was good from the start after the warming up. Band pulls since the weight was a bit odd, I had to alter the warming up slightly. It took me about half way in for me to kind of get the ideal pull form to have things feel strong. So that was the majority of the session and then it was time for squats and then lighter stuff (but not super easy stuff). Plan here was to hopefully have things feel a bit easier than last time. It had been 65%x3x3 with pauses so this time around it was to be 65%x2x5 without pauses. So it should go better yes? Not really. Warming up was feeling fine but I noticed that even when I added a belt that it wasn’t feeling drastically better. Usually stuff might feel crappy and then feel better when I get to the sets where I put on a hard belt. This time, nothing felt heavy on my back but I felt slow and my knees were feeling achy. I was to indicate RIR and man that wasn’t something that was feeling good. I put down like 3-4RIR that first set with how much I felt like I was struggling. Second set was a good bit better but it wasn’t how this weight should normally feel. I indicated 5RIR. Looking at video, it doesn’t look nearly as rough. Those little hesitations on the movement felt a lot slower/rougher at the time. So maybe not that bad off. But this should’ve felt a lot easier compared to last time and it did not. Felt about the same. Banded leg curls with long holds after that and same as last time with 2x10-12 with 3-5ct holds. I might have been further away from the band anchor point this week compared to last as these did feel a little bit tougher. I do like how these cook the hamstrings  and seem to help the knees feel better. Last thing was roman chair sit-ups. Just 2x15 this time. I tried a different way of anchoring this. Initially it seemed it didn’t work as it kind of “settled” after the first rep or two but then it didn’t keep moving so I guess it did work. Slightly harder than I would’ve liked but this is the last week of them as the deload proceeds. Put stuff away but just left the car outside since I didn’t want to let in more “bad air” and I was going to need the garage for training tomorrow anyways. Cooked dinner and stretched afterwards. Iced knees before bed. I do wonder if I’m pushing things too close to competition with how things seem to recover. I was initially thinking that as far as my legs (quads and knees, not hamstrings) as I seemed to be doing well with the upper body stuff with the current split. But then all my joints started to ache and I figured I don’t know what is right and just need to get some rest.

June 5, 2023 – Week 13, Day 1

Cobra Stretches (5/15)/Bottom Up Kettlebell Presses/Dumbbell Pullovers (3 seconds stretch)/Cobra Stretches (5/15)
bwx3/15’sx10/20x10/bwx3

Viking Presses (push press, facing away, hands 11” down handles)
+55(66)x2
+100(99)x2
+145(132)x2
+190(165)x2
+235(198)x1
+260(216.5)x1
+280(231)x1
+305(249.5)x1
+326(265)x5 in 75 seconds (2+1+1+1+0)
Rebound (1 second holds)
+294(241.5)x2
+294(241.5)x2

Swiss Bar Chest Supported Rows
110x3
162x3
214x3
264x6
264x6
264x6

Dumbbell Lateral Raises
10’sx10
21’sx20
21’sx20

Incline Band Tate Presses (1 second holds)
(2)mbx5
lbx3
lb+(4)mbx3/lb+(3)mbx7/lb+(2)mbx4/lb+mbx5/lbx6

Stretching
 
Comments: Monday had some stresses. Some expected and others not. As far as the expected, I had to come into the office for a little bit. I’ve not been there in person since April 2020. Had to turn in my old laptop and get a new one and make sure the equipment worked. Nice to get new stuff for work but I have a feeling this is more to make it easier to bring people back by having the laptops for people connecting to dual monitors as opposed to having a desktop. Not a problem for me as I’ve been on lap top the entire time. The other is that these have cameras on them, that the desktops didn’t. My laptop had a camera but it was taped over before I got it. This one I put a sticky note over it. So that was about 2hrs of my day that I could’ve been working gone there. The unexpected was getting a call from medical provider about scheduling for the gastroenterologist. Something I had not agreed to and had yet to get a response back from my doctor. I didn’t appreciate it and indicated such (in as polite terms as I can). I may need to see if I can switch back to previous doctor that had moved but I wonder if I can since I’d probably be considered a new patient even though I had them for 30yrs. Acknowledging it but not letting it dictate things for me. I react with letting off steam immediately and not holding on to things. That’s how you get burned. I had not done any icing for me knees Saturday after training. But I did make sure to do soft tissue work on Sunday. Some changes to this workout as the taper starts. Mobility stuff was adjusted to be more of a just some stuff as opposed to and even circuit of things being down twice. Same exercises but reps and sets adjusted. It was up to me how I wanted to do the cobra poses either as kind of a bread for the sandwich of the weighted stuff or even doing it while warming up for the viking press. I elected to keep things together. Can definitely tell how much those other two exercises help with getting things feeling limber for those stretches. No bag toss stuff this week which meant I went right into viking press. This meant that I could also set it up before training so I could go right into it. I’m not entirely sure with how the progression for these last two weeks are but this might be the last push here. It seemed like it with how this was setup. Pushing things too close to the show can be an issue with some events. Plan here was to work up in doubles and then singles to a top weight that I would do as contest style. However that would be. 5-10 reps using the full 60 seconds (up to 75 seconds). Even though last time I did push press the goal weight ended up not going great, I felt I needed to do that weight again if I felt up to it. I feel that this weight is the minimum to get an idea of what it will feel like for the viking press for me (as potentially 90% of contest weight in hand). Started with plate jumps and then switched to 20-25lbs jumps for singles. I got set with things as I would for competition as far as gear (including clothes and headgear). It didn’t start off great as I assumed it would feel easier and I false started and stopped when it wasn’t feeling right and took a minute or so to get myself back into the right frame of mind. Much better start this time and I got the first two reps well but then stopped when I hit the bottom of the rack going for the third (I didn’t push it). I was able to get singles after that, taking about 10 seconds rests between them. I managed to get 5 reps (the minimum) in 60 and went for a sixth a little too soon and it got off kilter (always to the left side). But it is a 2 rep improvement from what happened last time. Would’ve like more reps and I know there are more there. I didn’t exactly keep track of breathing as it was less breath and more just feeling confined. I’ll need to remember to do it as breathes at competition (and the spacing will be less). Down sets were the rebound stuff and the plan was 10-15% off what I did for the top weight. Two sets and half the reps of what I did (rounding down). So doubles. So I went with the higher end part of things. Also added 1 second holds at the top. And about 2 minutes rest. As this wasn’t going to really be that bad compared to the working weight. And then, as per usual, into the garage for the rest of the workout. Chest supported rows with the swiss bar. Still 3x6 at RPE 6-7. Adjusted the working up a little bit here. Slightly more weight than last time’s top set. But did it for all three sets this time. Next was dumbbell raises for shoulders. Same as last week with it being RPE 6-7 for two sets. Keep it light. Same as the rows I guess. Considering I went up 4lbs on the rows, I felt that 1lbs increase on these would be fine. I was also trying to just move through things pretty quickly after the viking presses. Like last week, seemed to go a little slower than usual and then I sped up on the second set. Last thing was the band incline tate presses, with the drop set of 20-25 reps using multiple bands. Notes indicated that would be reduced in difficulty next week and that I should do sets of 3-5 reps warming up so that not having the same elbow issue as last time. Suggestion noted. This did feel good. I initially was going to just do what I did last time but I figured I’d give 4 mini bands and the light band again. This time it was doable for a few. The amount of bands was getting to be a problem with some of them slipping off the back of the bench. So that was a bit annoying. This was tough to finish out for the 25 reps total. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching. Iced knees before bed.

June 3, 2023 – Week 12, Day 4

Bulgarian Split Squats with Rotation
bwx5/5
26.5’sx10/10

Sandbag Tosses
(10’ away)
30x1
30x1
35x1
40x1
(no run out)
45x1
50x1
55x1
60x1
(10’ away)
30x1/35x1/40x1/45x1/50x1 (didn’t clear marker)
30x1/35x1/40x1/45x1/50x1

Pin Safety Squat Bar Zercher Goodmornings w/ bands (+28lbs/+93lbs, 33” height, swiss ball)
75x3
125x3
175x3
225x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3

Hercules Holds
230x5 seconds
280x5 seconds
320x33.30 seconds PR+14.10 seconds
280x30.87 seconds
280x33.33 seconds

GHD Back Extensions (bearhug)
50x3
100x3
150x3
175x12

Band Assisted Sissy Squats/Band TKEs
abx15 – (2)lbx15/15
abx15 – (2)lbx20/20

Stretching
 
Comments: Friday kind of sucked. Not that there were issues at work or the doctor’s office. I guess either allergies were really bad or also coupled with stress but I felt under the weather waking up and for most of the day. Not ideal when it is 94 degrees. I decided to wait until after work to do any walking and see if meds helped. Ended up taking allergy meds during the morning and after lunch I was feeling a bit better. Drinking a lot of water. Thing was that I knew I needed to get up early for training because of a few reasons so I needed to make sure that I was rested and went to bed when I went to bed. Left some items to be taken care of in the morning. No soft tissue work (walk will have to suffice). Nyquil before bed just to make sure. I did wake up feeling better thankfully. I had to be up early for two reasons. One was that there was planned construction right near the exit I had to take to get on the main highway to the gym. I’d rather not have to pay toll routes to get there so that added about 10 minutes (I was expecting more so thankful for that). The other was that plan was to do Hercules hold and that requires at minimum 2 competent people. And more likely for that to be there early or very late. But very late is never a guarantee. Despite the temperature dropping like 15 degrees from the day before, it felt just as hot. The gym had extra fans running today. I brought in a new toss bag (on sale Memorial Day) and loaded that up to 60lbs. So now have 30-60lbs in 5lbs jumps plus 2 5lbs bags to add (the 3rd bag is missing now, not sure who/what would take that). Start of workout was Bulgarian split squats with rotation of back leg. Single set of 10 reps for this week. I’ve been doing kettlebell weighed stuff for knees over toes and those have seemed to help have things feel better when it comes time to actually do stuff like squats and split squats. I did decide to add a little more to that by doing stretches in the Cossack squat position as it does seem that knees and hip/hamstring tightness are tied together. One side definitely tighter than the other (as I suspected). That might be something to keep in the mobility warming up as the split squats felt really good and usually that first set with bodyweight feels like crap. So I went up in weight on the kettlebells to the next size up and it went well. Then it was time for sandbag. Work up in singles and do a 2 runs of the 5 bag series at the show with 85-90% of contest weight. I had felt like crap last time I attempted to do this two weeks prior. I had perhaps overdid it with doing singles with the 50lbs bag. But last week I seemed to start get things clicking again and managed to get the 55lbs bag over the band target after all the singles with lighter bags (and I had not been able to get it previously). I also had the new 60lbs bag. So my thinking again was warm up and see if I can get overload and come back down to do 30-50lbs for the runs. Suggested was to only do the first bag potentially as a hop back (even though I can do up to 40lbs successfully that way) since that would be the only bag I’d actually do that with in the series at this point. So I did one rep hop back and one walk back. I’m trying out different things with the walk back depending on how things feel. Trying to be efficient in my motions but also in saving energy. So kind of holding the bag out in front and using the backpedal motion and then dropping the bag as a way to get the swing momentum down so I don’t have to do a second swing on some bags. Did 10’ out up to the 40lbs bag and then went with the bag right where I want them to toss for the rest of my singles. I had some issues here. Mistimed release on the 45lbs and the 50lbs. 55lbs I got the height but my arc was off so landed right behind me. I didn’t treat that as a failure to retry and got the 60lbs bag out. My thinking being if I have the reserve strength for clearing 60lbs, I will have a better shot with the 50lbs and so on. Because it isn’t just a strength thing, it is the fast twitch over the course of the series. I can clear 15’ with a 50lbs bag but I couldn’t even hit at bad set at 13’8” with the top of the bag last time I did a series run. So time to try 60lbs (most I’ve attempted in training but gave it an honest shot in competition in 2021). I hit the back of the toss tower on the back swing and got the arc a bit better compared to 55lbs. But it landed on the band. And it stayed there. I was very surprised the band didn’t snap. Now according to the rules at both Regionals and Nationals, this would count as a good toss. But I wanted it to fall over. So I tried shoving it and it was good and stuck despite a few attempts. So I had to get a pole from a prowler to knock it over. Just a ridiculous thing haha. So then I rested and got things setup for the series attempts. Seeing as I wasn’t anywhere close last time, I went with the same weights since I was to try it twice this time. I had Andrew help with commands and filming so that I could see the full movement since I tend to have limited view when filming with camera stationary in the alleyway. First run through was ok up until the last bag. I did hop back first bag and did the backpedal for the second and third and then just walked it back with the last one and tossed it back on the last one to the where I wanted it. Need to utilize all these methods I think. I did hit the band this time around on the 50lbs so that is progress there. Second run I had some issues. My glasses came off and then my doo rag came off. The hair in the ponytail does seem to keep things out of my way. I’ll probably need to do this without my glasses and doo rag at the show. Those only slowed me down slightly and had my trajectory off on the 3rd bag only. Time for the last bag and I got more height on it this time and it landed on top of the band. Someone told me since I did it twice I should play the lottery. It didn’t stay up there this time and came back around like a Ferris wheel and just ejected it at me. I realized I had more time so I did turn around but noticed the band was gone. It apparently got launched into low orbit. It landed on top, I’m counting it haha. Had to get some help to bring the tower down and affix a new band to it. Not entirely sure how the last few sessions will play out here for this. Next up was the banded zercher goodmornings off of pins with the safety squat bar. Well, not right away. I had taken too long I guess doing sandbag and tearing down that someone was using the only ssb in the gym. I was a little annoyed because there were very few people in the gym and I only trusted one of them to be able to handle assistance on Hercules hold. So I wasn’t sure if I should move on to that or wait this out. I did get the Hercules hold setup with where I wanted to start it. The person finally finished up and I was able to get things ready for the zercher stuff. Plan was the same band tension as last time and increase the weight by 10-15lbs for the 5x3. I did 50lbs jumps here. These are getting tough. Definitely feeling that passing out sensation on these at times. But despite how rough they feel at the start, I feel better as I do them. I know these are helping with building up a good bit of reserve strength for the stone to shoulder for the lap to shoulder. I mean, just over contest weight at the start and close to 70lbs over at the top. Really lets me be stable and work on triple extension as well. I’ve only had one time where the size of this new swiss ball and the sweat was an issue and that was the very first session (note: I did locate the smaller swiss ball but not going back haha). Then it was time for Hercules hold. This was the day. This is one of my best events with seated arm over arm. Never placed lower than 2nd place on it. Plan was this likely the one touch on it with potentially doing another next week if I felt it was needed. It is a pain to setup and get assistance with to do it safely. But I do stress that I’m not doing all the events for a show. But this is one that I’ve learned doesn’t really need it for me to be good. All the indicators were vastly improved from last time I did this style (IE no hook grip). The plan was to do three working sets. It was up to me how I wanted to do that. Either work up for sets of 15-30 seconds with increasing weight or to do a top set of 30-45 seconds and then back off 10-15% for 2 matching time sets. My thinking with just how I seem to operate is top set and back offs. I tend to have issues with recovery after a top set on grip stuff, even if I don’t feel it is too taxing. This would probably be the best way to get the work in. My goal was to do 320lbs and then back off sets of 280lbs. I knew from experience that the 320lbs was more slightly more than the contest weight in hand at Regionals on that setup (same weight as last year). I had done 19.20 seconds at this weight in training and did 38.34 seconds at the show. So it was a big ask I think to get 30 seconds at this weight. But if I did, it would be a big indicator. Warming up didn’t feel that good honestly. It was more just getting used to the sensation. I had smashed two fingers last Saturday on the left hand and the right side I got a splinter from the toss tower and pulling that out had my hand bleed a little. And that was also the side where I got blood drawn and I have a bruise the size of a smartphone there (more medical professional annoyances). I could feel some tension in the right forearm on the first warm up set but wasn’t present after that. The zercher stuff probably didn’t help that. But plan was to do two “events” beforehand since this will likely be the last event of Day 1 for the show. Hand offs have improved dramatically with the number system as opposed to the take the strain method. I felt solid and only stopped after I knew I was past 30 seconds. I could’ve held on for a bit more. I’m noticing with the heavier weights that there is more shoulder tension and upper back required to keep from losing the weight early. So fatigue can set in there. Big PR here. I think the hook grip stuff from the previous cycle did help with getting the other structures ready for the duration and strain for the forearms and the shoulders. Down sets as expected were a bit tougher. I counted to 35 in my head and even then my counting wasn’t quite right as I was a little shy of what the time was the first set but corrected the second set. I don’t think I need to do another of these for the show here. Back extensions after that. Again, just one top set bear hug style. Same as last time but indication was try to get it to be 10-12 reps with 1RIR. Warm up in sets of 3 reps. Plan was 50lbs jumps just because. I felt good but not good enough to try 205lbs (I didn’t think the 175lbs with a 25lbs on it would be a good fit). Maybe I should’ve tried it as once I got things situated, it felt pretty darn good and I definitely had more than 1RIR on these. And that was doing these a bit more controlled than I did them last time. I think last time for these this cycle. Last thing was optional it seems. For knee health. The plan was to do 2 sets of FFE reverse lunges. Fully planned to do that but my knees just said no. More so the back leg then the front leg really. Just not wanting to do that ROM. Even with bodyweight. The notes did indicate to do my choice of knee stuff with potential unilateral work or skip. So I figured that band assisted sissy squats would be the ticket. I attempted to do a split stance or single leg variation but not happening. So lowered the assistance and did with both legs. But I felt that wasn’t enough so superseded with band TKEs and did those in a split stance. I know my knees are touchy on the best day for some things. But keep on going. I accidentally did more reps the second set on the TKEs. I think I got distracted with attempting to stay on the balls of my feet on the second set of the sissy squats. Stretched before driving home. Thankfully no traffic issues with construction on the way back.

June 1, 2023 – Week 12, Day 3

T-Spine Reaches
bwx10/10

Andrew Lock Shoulder Big 3’s (3 second holds)
10’sx10-10-10

Close Grip Axle Floor Presses w/ Chains (+66lbs)
36x2
66x2
96x2
126x2
156x2
186x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2

Banded Shoulder Extensions (3 second holds)
mb’sx15
mb’sx15

Incline Bench Dumbbell Cuban Rotations (2 second holds)
12’sx12
12’sx12

Single Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (followed by 30 seconds stretch)
mmbx15/15
mmbx15/15

Stretching
 
Comments: The doctor stuff continued into this day as well. I was advised that findings weren’t concerning but wants to refer me to gastro. Only addressing the last question of my request for clarification. So I rephrased it again. I point blank asked for what purpose. If purely for curiosity’s sake I’m not interested in subjecting myself to further test/procedures. Let me live my life. Thankfully they’ve stuck to messaging as opposed to the phone calls. But I guess no response is better than having them push scheduling. Never had this issue with my previous doctor before moved to a different practice late last year. I really hope I don’t have to find someplace else if this nonsense keeps up. Not doing something because you tell me to, I need to know the how and why. This stuff stresses me out. So not ideal conditions but thankfully this is the easy workout. I decided I kind of wanted to just go from one thing to the next here so got stuff setup for everything. It got up to 90 degrees (surprising) and while warm, it wasn’t an oppressive heat. It actually felt nice. I guess a “dry heat”. I was feeling fairly sore in from the training session the day before. Band pulls for sure in the upper back. I put my hair in a ponytail for this session to see how this affected things. T-spine rotation to start things off. I did take off my glasses but I was able to not have my hair and the rotation make my doo rag come off. Midsection was a bit stiff but understandable considering the day before session. But the positive would be no shoulder discomfort of any kind. Just tightness. So off to a good start. Lock Big 3 up next. I guess there are going to be weeks where these feel ok and others where these feel really tough. At least that seems to be the case for the second and third style of these. Generally got no issues with the first style but I can tell if that one I’m feeling a little shaky near the end that I may not be in for a good time for the other two as those feel like a lot harder for me. But I think shoulders have been responding well to these. Not having to be so cautious with which side I fall asleep on with my neck is something I’ve noticed. And not having as much sensation of an impingement on the left shoulder. But this is the reason for this day really. Not to obliterate the upper body, more to just get some stuff primed and get the supporting structures beefed up enough to let me keep pushing heavy weights. From there it was time for axle floor pressing with the chains. Still 7x2 with the same rest and the same chains. Just adding 5-10lbs to it. I’m kind of surprised as usually there is some kind of decrease in the reps as weight gets added with these “speed” cycles. But I’m fine with it. With how these have been feeling, I could probably do 20 sets and still be ok. Still breaking up the set with a slight pause at lockout. That does seem to have made a big difference in the rep quality for me. Not thinking of speeding through the set but more just being fast on each individual rep. Sometimes we put speed where it doesn’t need to be to work what we want to work. Speed we think fast. So yet another 10lbs added with the same volume for another week of this and feeling much the same. I think I actually did closer to EMOM rest on these. Not sure if this wave is stopping or going again. Some exercises seem to be open ended like that depending on how things are. In fact, this workout might be dropped before the contest week to promote better recovery. Back to the lighter stuff. Well not necessarily light when it comes to bands. Shoulder extensions for 2x12-15 with 2-3ct. Still doing the mini bands but cinched this time again. Really, I don’t think I can make this movement easy unless I did micro bands and didn’t do any kind of holds. These get not just my shoulders but my triceps too. But I moved right along. I think I took shorter rest between sets compared to two weeks ago (I may have done same rest last week). Cuban rotations up next. Stuck with 12’s again for the 2x10-12 with 1-2ct holds. Of course anything less than 2x12 at 2 seconds wasn’t going to cut it. I will say this was feeling better than last week. Might be tempted to add a 1lbs to this or something haha. Last thing was some triceps focus with stretch. Just did what I did last time. Just trying to have more intent about it (Drew says that stuff sometimes when sticking with a certain weight/rep scheme). So intent was to get the stretch and angle right. Not just move but feel what I’m doing. So that was easy enough. Put stuff away and stretched before eating pot roast.

May 31, 2023 – Week 12, Day 2

13” Axle Jack Stand Pulls w/ bands (straps, +26lbs/+79lbs)
110x1
160x1
200x1
250x1
290x1
340x1
380x1
430x1
470x1
520x1
582x1
Clusters (30 seconds)
524x1+1
524x1+1

Dimel Deadlifts w/ bands (straps, +51lbs/+102lbs)
135x3
225x3
315x6
315x6

Paused Safety Squat Bar Squats (2 seconds)
65x3
115x3
155x3
205x3
245x3
295x3
295x3
295x3

Paused Seated Band Hamstring Curls (band each leg, 5 seconds holds)
lb’sx12
lb’sx12

Roman Chair Sit-ups
bwx15
bwx15

Stretching
 
Comments: I was curious how this session would go. But there was a little damper on things. I had what I was thinking was the last “testing” for this liver “issue” with blood work Tuesday morning. A slight upward trend (98 to 102) has the doctor attempting to refer me to a gastroenterologist. For what I don’t know. The other stuff should’ve ruled out things like liver failure, cirrhosis and hepatitis (and honestly, should never have even been discussed with the levels) and I’ve been told it isn’t “concerning” but then why more tests? Reasonable explanations would be that I eat high protein diet with strenuous strength training and that I take a medication that is known to elevate these levels. I feel like I’ll need to fight this crap going forward. But for now, just waiting on responses back from my inquiry. So maybe that was weighing down on me a little. Did the weighted knee stuff for mobility before getting ready. This was to start off with the heavy day with the axle as has been the case but a little different. Rather than go for a moderate day, the thought was to go for a heavy single with band tension. Idea being the bar weight will be lower than what I end up pulling for the last heavy session (indication is work up to 1st or 2nd attempt) but will overload with the band tension at the top. Using the same setup I’ve done for the past two “speed” pull sessions. I decided I’d do singles all the way and do 40-50lbs jumps. Set myself up for anywhere between 560lbs and 600lbs for the top single depending on how I feel. But truly, 570lbs was the bare minimum I think I’d have been slightly ok with. But I also knew that pulling against bands is hard. Like, the band pulls that are for speed don’t feel like it. I also don’t feel fast with pulls even if they look like it relatively. Anything over 406lbs with this setup would technically be a PR for this setup. Stuff was feeling heavy. 470lbs though didn’t feel that bad and I felt like I could pull what I was expecting (up to this point I was worried 520lbs would be it). 520lbs I could tell that 600lbs was probably not a wise decision. This was to be a top pull but it was to be with 1-2RIR. So I calculated what I would need to have about 520lbs for the down set and that minimum was 577lbs. So then I was thinking that but figured why not just do 580lbs? That would be just shy of 300kgs at the top. So I added 2lbs more to it so that it would be. Goal had been to have the tension and bar weight be over 635lbs at lockout. So this was the added bonus of being over 600lbs off the floor and over the projected max in training at the top. This did feel slow and I think another rep would be a fight to lockout. Can’t say confidently that I’d get a triple here. It actually doesn’t look that bad with the bar speed once it breaks off the floor until below the knees. Then it slows a bit for lockout. But good sign that the about the weight I did for a double without bands that I can do with against band tension of like 50lbs on it through the lift. The work to get the goal jumps at Regionals has been put in. But still need to work. Down sets were the cluster doubles. Pull, rest 30 seconds and pull again. So drop down 10% here. These did move ok but they felt like death. Especially the second rep of each set. Felt like not much was left but the camera says I was good for more with enough rest between the sets. I knew I was going to be beat. Took a little break to get some fluids down while tearing down the band platform setup and getting another banded exercise setup; dimels. These have been getting some big potential jumps in weight each time they pop up. These feel like nothing without bands added. This is definitely the most I’ve attempted on these. Big jumps to just get a short ramp up. I’m sticking to no hard belt on these. At this weight, the reversal is difficult. Like on lighter stuff, I can do a fast descent and quickly turn it around. At this weight, I kind of have to control the lowering and the reversal isn’t as quick. But the lifting is still violent and explosive. And the second set feels better than the first. A little break here getting things ready for squats. Paused squats. Not exactly easy even though indicated as such. Pauses tend to stress my knees a lot more than normal reps. I was given a few numbers such as RPE and percentage. 65%x3x3 here but RPE 4-5. Knees were feeling rough but did feel better as I added a belt. The sets did get better as I went but I’d probably need to be doing closer to 50% for the RPE to safely be in this range. I was definitely pushing it for RPE 5 (probably above). I know things are ramping down for squats. The Nordics were removed for something less harsh. Banded leg curls with long holds were the replacement and I was glad they were there. They do seem to make the hamstrings sore but also the knees happy. Plan was 2x10-12 with 3-5ct holds. Of course going the higher end of the spectrum. Last thing was roman chair sit-ups. Just 2x15 this time. I tried to anchor the bench a bit more this time as I was scooting it along last time. Despite those efforts, still had it moving. But these did feel good on my back and hips after all the other stuff. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching. Iced knees before bed.