February 11, 2024 - February 17, 2024 - Week 9

 February 12, 2024 – Week 9, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

12” Log Push Presses
90x5
120x3
150x2
170x2
190x2
190x2
190x2
190x2
190x5

Chest Supported Barbell Rows
95x5
135x5
185x5
Added Straps
225x5
275x5
300x5

Bench Presses
45x15
95x8
135x5
185x5
230x5
230x5

Stretching
 
Comments: Last week didn’t end the best way with pulling my right hamstring at the end of the workout. I don’t really notice it if I’m just walking around my house or just “existing” but definitely notice an issue if I’m trying to walk at a brisk pace or uneven ground and longer stride length. Sensation of like a slight cramp. Tolerable and I was able to get through my usual neighborhood 2 mile walk on my off day but at a slower pace. My body decided that I should add to that by straining something in my neck while drying my head off after a shower on Sunday evening. So ended up needing to take anti-inflammatories to get to sleep. It didn’t help that there are some stressful family stuff this week and then finding out getting a snow storm tomorrow. Ugh. Body weight just under 285lbs now so I guess on track for that goal. I had been able to get some soft tissue massage work on the hamstring Sunday and there is no bruising at this point. For training, obviously concerns about how things would go here. With this particular session, there was honestly more concern with the warming up stuff. There were thankfully no issues here. I did have some trepidation with initiating bodyweight box squats but got over that. I know there is the physical issues but I think the mental is going to be harder. Especially at this training age and point. As I feel I got only so many workouts left in me to be at somewhat top form. This workout did require some adjustments and I was fully expecting that. Doesn’t mean I don’t initially take it as me not being good enough for the original plan. I know that I’m going to think that and I try to rationalize it away with the reality of things. Anyways, the start of things was log work. Similar to how axle last week was with these being lower body drive movements now. Unlike axle, only doing push pressing. No strict pressing or jerks with working up in weight. The contingency plans here had been that if my hamstring was acting up to not do the beginning as clean and presses and do all work out of the rack and then if initiating lower body drive bother hamstring to do strict pressing instead. Mr. Westerling felt it was best to not attempt the cleans this time around to let the hamstring rest more so it was all out of the rack work. I had hoped to use the clean to test things for the more intensive stuff that would be coming later in the week. Unlike say when I’ve overworked my biceps or neck, I can usually get away with not putting direct work on them. But I’m always doing something with the legs. So the good with the log work today was that it didn’t bother my hamstring at all and the log felt light on my shoulders and chest. Working up to a top double (same weight as the axle last week) and then doing more doubles before having the option to do up to 5 reps on the last set before calling it. Neck wasn’t bothering me either. But the log wasn’t feeling as good as the axle felt last week. I mean, axle has always felt better on my shoulders/chest besides the breaking in period with the wrist stress. I think part of it is that I’ve not felt comfortable with log out of the rack for push pressing since I had to start training from home. The only time it has ever felt good had been that one tiered squat rack at the YMCA. No where else seems to get it right. I don’t seem to have issues with strict pressing like I do with the push pressing out of the rack. Potentially it is that I feel like my vision is obscured and that I don’t have as much space to maneuver. I’m not helping things with having the rubber stall mat on the patio that isn’t under the power rack. My foot stance doesn’t change with a strict press but I know I might move around with lower body drive. Which kind of ended up being the case for the last set as I could feel my heels had moved onto the rubber mat. There were some reps that I felt good about and others I didn’t. The ones I didn’t like the most were that last set with the last two reps. I felt more triceps and the fatigue with pressing out in front instead of up and back. I’m going to have to adjust my workout area in the back when it isn’t so risky with dampness so that I can give myself the opportunity to do my best here. Lesson for next time. It looked like some precipitation was happening so I tried to get stuff from outside inside. I had already spent rest periods warming up for log having the next thing setup. Which was chest supported rows. 5 sets of 5 reps to a top set for the day. I had lowered the weight a good bit based off of how things had been feeling last time and trying to get things more “locked in”. I was also feeling a bit off mentally after how much my overhead was struggling and that could’ve affected things. But I felt that I had undershot this last time so that doing 40-50lbs jumps with having 275lbs would work out just fine. I was also considering the neck strain and how that might affect things. Also didn’t want to inadvertently pull with the biceps too much considering that I had gone up 25lbs on the sandbag from last time. However, I was apparently feeling pretty good. 275lbs for the top set ended up feeling really easy. Like I had left way too much in the tank. So it was a bit odd compared to how things had felt last time but again, I was a bit in my own head with the pressing and just wanted to be done and not decrease my recovery. I was contemplating 295lbs but decided screw it and do 300lbs. And for once, the gamble paid off and I got it done. So that was neat. Then time for bench. This was to be “speed” work. 230lbs for 2x5 working up this time. As shoulders were feeling better, I did end up doing more reps working up as originally written rather than just sets of five reps. I still feel like I'm getting used to this style of benching and this grip. The reps that click really click and the reps that don't do feel tough on my triceps. Overall, I'd say these felt better than last time. Put stuff away and stretched.

February 14, 2024 – Week 9, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats
45x10
95x5
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
325x3

Romanian Deadlifts w/ Hip Circle (straps)
135x5
225x3
315x3
405x3
495x2
585x2

Crunches
bw+10x30

Lying Leg Raises
bwx30

Stretching
 
Comments: This week was becoming even more stressful. The things that were mentioned at the beginning of the week were getting closer to happening and then there was my own concerns about my hamstring. I didn’t get to walk on Tuesday as it snowed in the morning into the early afternoon. But it got warm enough that I only had to worry about doing a little bit as the temperature increased and melted most of it. I was really stressing and worrying about how this workout would go. The only thing that could’ve really bothered things for Monday would’ve been if I had done cleans with the log. But there wasn’t really any avoiding it with this workout without not doing the workout. I was equal parts curious what I could do as well as fearful that I’d do too much. The good news I guess is that mobility work warming up hadn’t bothered anything for me. But then it was time for weights. Front squats starting things off with the plan being to work up to a top set of 3 reps. Plan was warm up with 40-50lbs jumps and see how things were going. Goal was to do 325lbs since I didn’t go for 315lbs last time for set of 5 reps. I felt I could do this even if not feeling 100%. Something I had thought on since the last session was about having safeties. I was pushing the weight on these and there was starting to be a risk of getting lightheaded and potentially missing the rack. Now that I’ve figured out the belt situation, that seems less likely but I feel I need to keep that in check. So I decided I’d use the sturdier rack outside on the patio rather than then the flimsy one I initially got with the 2020 quarantine stuff. The safeties on that thing weren’t helping anyone. It would also save time swapping over to the rdls afterwards. There was trepidation here as I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Knees were probably a little achy from my calf and hamstrings being tight from the acute injury. But things seemed to be fine. I was a bit annoyed that 275lbs felt heavier than I would’ve liked it to be. I was hoping that the top set would feel like this haha. The top set I was nervous but I’d say it was a fairly comfortable triple. Potentially for a set of five reps here. So I guess that was a good sign. I also thought I had gone heavier then this weight since 2016 injury but apparently not. 315lbs has been the most I’ve done for a front squat. Time for rdls. This was what I was most concerned about. I didn’t really want to back down if I could but I also didn’t want to tear my hamstring off the bone. The plan had been to do 585lbs for a PR set for rdls. I’m annoyed with myself for having the hamstring pull/tear as I was feeling strong here. The working up sets felt easier compared to last time, albeit with a more labored walking the weight out. But pretty much every first rep I was worried that it would be the one to claim the hamstring. It is hard to tell with things like that, especially when a movement itself doesn’t necessarily feel painful or restrictive. My hamstring was able to tolerate 495lbs but 585lbs was a bridge too far. I felt it on the first rep but did a double to see if perhaps I could adjust the position and nope. I knew if I kept going I was at risk of greater injury. At this point, I was able to get away without making things worse but I definitely irritated things. So any progress I had made from Saturday was back to square one really. But I try to take information from things like this. Standing up with the weight at this height did not bother the hamstring and lowering didn’t either. It was the concentric where it was the issue and at essentially top end weight. I can handle I guess about 85% right now. As I mentioned, the hamstring was irritated from my prideful folly and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to do some things I probably could’ve if I didn’t as well as realize that I’m going to have to adjust future workouts for a bit. And probably longer than I was wanting to. I should be glad that I got off this easy as far as an injury. I attempted to get the hyper bench stuff in but my hamstring was not having it with my leg in the stretched position so had to scrap this from the session. Which meant I only had abdominal stuff to do then. This was the same as last time with it being a set of crunches (with weight) and lying leg raises. This was thankfully not an issue for my hamstring with either exercise. Crunches about the same with the weight and 30 reps. Leg raises felt like they took forever but this seemed to be the least issues I felt with spinal compression on these after a session. But to be fair, the lower back stuff was at a minimum this time around. I started cooking up dinner and put stuff away before eating. Stretched afterwards but was bit lost on what I was going to be doing.

February 17, 2024 – Week 9, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Sandbag Tosses (16’)
30x1
30x1
30x1
EMOM
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1
41x1

Titan Fitness Frame Carries (22” pick, casual pace)
110x50’
200x50’
290x50’
380x50’
470x50’

Titan Fitness Frame Holds (22” pick)
560x5 seconds
650x30 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: I was not feeling good the past two days. Kind of shutdown in a way to I guess protect myself. I felt that I needed to rest as walking would probably hamper that after I pushed things Wednesday. I ended up cutting my meals from 10 to 3 and just focusing on my office work and going to bed early enough that I was getting 11hrs of sleep. I think this was my way of “clearing my system” in a way as I wasn’t feeling like walking and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with my own stress of expectations as well as the issues affecting those close to me this week. I did hamstring rehab stuff both days and ended up typing up an e-mail for Mr. Westerling about how I was feeling for potential adjustments. I had pretty much decided Friday that I wasn’t going to the gym for Saturday training as it would likely be modified so I could do stuff at home and I didn’t really want to be 40 miles away from home where I could reinjury things. I was also probably putting myself at a bit of disadvantage with not eating nearly the amount I was used to (or drinking). I got a modified plan for the training on Saturday. Having a plan to go forward but then saw a warning that 3-6” of snow was expected overnight. So potentially even those plans could be screwed. I got up eventually and looked outside. The sun had been up and out and melted most of the snow. So the street and driveway were clear. The back patio would need to be cleared off so that it wouldn’t melt and refreeze overnight. I would need that for Monday. The warming up was changed. More things added for the hamstrings that had a dynamic nature to it. Those kinds of movements had me concerned as I felt that those would be too much (hence hesitation on bag toss). But these actually went pretty well with minor tension in the hamstrings. This was also on top of the normal stuff I was doing (the whole warm up is being adjusted going forward). Foam rolling for a little bit on the hamstrings also part of it. But before this, I did shovel the snow off the patio (as well as some other things). When that was done, I took a detour. So the modified plan was to do frame/farmer’s carry stuff only as I had expressed concern that I couldn’t handle the explosive nature of the bag toss. However, I had felt it wasn’t going to be an issue after doing box touches and leg swings. I tested some bag swings in the garage and I felt it was worth a shot. So part of my warming up had been to dig a path in the snow to have a walkway and a place to throw from. I also had to setup the toss tower as the heavy snow had actually knocked the setup down. I did a few tosses with 30lbs (had to empty the bag a good bit) and then went for 41lbs for the 10 singles EMOM style. I was going to do 42lbs before the injury here but this was still good. I actually had planned to do a jump in-between but this was what I got and figured I wouldn’t jinx it. I had towels setup for me to wipe my feet off between tosses. First toss went over fine. I was kind of surprised how vertical the bags were going those first few. The second one was cutting it close coming back down on the setup and the third came down on my side rather than over. I didn’t repeat because it had the height. The fourth one I tried to correct that and ended up whacking the back of my head on the yoke crossbar trying to extend. That woke me up. That coupled with worry of potentially overdoing the hamstring actually might have lead me to having a better release point. Cutting it a little shy was actually having the bag go over the 16’ height easily. So it seems that injury has potentially lead to improvement. It was good to do something and have it be good even with the recent injury. Then it was time for frame carry stuff. Plan here was to work up to comfortable weight from an elevated pick height and then work up to even heavier for hold. We had found back when I had the disc bulge that I could pick up stuff from elevated position without pain. Side handle from higher up will be less hamstring. Used the frame at home with the wooden planks. I set it on the 6” drop pads I had so that I could pick from about 22” (I say about as they are foam and compress under weight). Goal was to do 50’ runs. But I guess not runs. Casual pace. So slow walking with the frame so time under tension. My hamstring fatigues walking and I know I can’t put full trust that I can run/sprint at this point. This is actually going to be the hardest thing I think to mentally get back into besides the pick things up off the ground. I’ve done this before when coming back from back injury. But never really went higher than 500lbs I think on yoke or similar. I had thought it was even lower for some reason but I guess I have to give myself some credit. Did 90lbs jumps for 50’ up to 470lbs. The recommended had been like 400lbs. I was prepared for 380lbs to be where I stopped. The pick was fine, it was more the walking (especially the first step) that I could tell that my hamstring is not ready. After that, I did holds. The plan was to work up to close to what I was to be doing as far as my frame carry top set. Goal had been 620lbs for this week. But I felt like I needed to do more. I think mostly because this frame is slightly wider and has knurling. I just remember the last time I did a pick and hold (much higher height) that I was surprised how tough it was. So I did 90lbs jumps again starting at 5 seconds at 560lbs and then going all in for 650lbs. I was a little worried the pick would be hamstring stress but it was not thankfully. I don’t like the knurling on these handles but I held it for a little over 30 seconds before putting it down with control. I don’t want to tear any callouses. Started eating/drinking to get in meals and calories as well as put stuff away. I ended up stretching later in the evening after letting my stomach settle.