February 18, 2024 - February 24, 2024 - Week 10

February 19, 2024 – Week 10, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Overhead
Strict Presses + Push Presses + Jerks
26x5+5+5
51x3+3+2
Push Press + Jerks
80x1+1
110x1+1
140x1+1
170x1+1
200x1+1
200x1+1
200x1+1
200x1+1
200x4+1

Band Assisted Pull-ups
abx5 at pin 12
abx5 at pin 15
abx5 at pin 18
abx5 at pin 21
abx8 at pin 24

12” Log Incline Bench Presses
90x10
120x5
150x3
180x2
200x5
200x5

Stretching
 
Comments: So weight is the same as last week, which honestly is quite surprising considering the caloric deficit I had for two of those days last week. I guess refeeding Saturday got me back up (I was weighing less that morning even with my shoes on). I think I’ve also got myself in a better mental state with things in that while I still want to do Regionals and qualify for Nationals, I’m accepting that it could be on hold while letting things heal up and just focus on getting stronger and better. And if things end up working out for me then they do. Hopefully I will be back to things in three weeks’ time and treat this as a one-month detour essentially. Having a three-day weekend to get things sorted helps too. With today being off from work, I could train when I wanted as opposed to waiting until the evening. At least that is what I would say if I didn’t accidentally sleep until noon. So that kind of limited my choices while also cutting down on meal timing. I pretty much decided early on in the session that I was going to have to drop one of the weight gain shakes or I’d not be able to stomach dinner (which was going to be the most calories and most filling). As I mentioned on Saturday, there had been modification to the “dynamic warm ups” and that going forward there would be a change. The most of the exercises added on Saturday became part of it. Nothing was dropped but there were some decreases in reps/time for some exercises, increases for others and some modifications to previous exercises. It is certainly a bit more of a workload but I think necessary. Even if not a permanent change, this will at least let me gauge the hamstring progress with some good feedback and hopefully continue to contribute to body movements feeling better. Going into this workout, I was feeling some stiffness/soreness/achiness in the right knee. But didn’t seem to be an issue for training or warming up. Starting things off with axle. I had removed the stall mat from the patio and swept the dirt/dust that was under it. I felt that while I like the “thud” sound of the bumper plates on it with the axle, it was limiting the area I could be pressing from in different aspects. Now it is back where it was previously for bag toss and viking press stuff. One of the issues with pressing at this time of day is that sun is literally right in my eyes facing the house to unrack. Everything out of the rack at this time with the hamstring. As with last time I did axle, the first two warming up sets had me start with strict presses, then push presses and finally jerks. Things were feeling fairly comfortable I guess. Light stuff was good to get my body used to things and figure where I was putting too much stress (like knees to far forward vs spreading out). Then going to the expected of first rep a push press and then the second rep a jerk. I eventually decided to move out of the rack fully as I was likely to nip the rack going for the jerk drive. Working weight being 10lbs more than last time. At this rate of progression, I’ll likely be at about 85% of contest weight come contest time for reps. There was some concerns that the jerks could cause some hamstring issues here but I figured I’d be good if I was able to do 325lbs for a triple on front squats. Plan was do four sets and then decide on the fifth set if I wanted to do more reps or not. Like last time, allowed to go up to 4 push presses (as a treat) but make sure to end with a jerk that was crisp and easy. These took a little longer as far as time under tension since I was walking these out and walking them back in. Also slight hesitancy with the sun in my eyes haha. My wrists and knees weren’t really bothering me on these. That first unrack with 200lbs did feel like something on my ribcage but it felt crisper as I went. Not attempting any split stance stuff while hamstring heals up. Push pressing felt fine and dandy although I got a little off balance on the fourth one of that last set, so jerk just felt ok. At this point, I got down a few food items that would get some calories in but wouldn’t really add much weight or get me gassy (bowl of oatmeal, glass of whole milk, a little Icelandic yogurt). I didn’t want to eat/drink anything substantial doing overhead with the belt on and nothing else would require a belt or a ton of core bracing. Up next being band assisted pull-ups. I kept the knee sleeves just because. Still doing sets of 5 reps to the top set (though expanded to 5-15 reps). I was slightly tempted to increase the band assistance to aim higher rep range but I figured I’d just stick to what I’ve been doing for the past few sessions and stick to the “add reps when I feel like it”. Things were feeling pretty good here so I had a feeling that I’d probably be adding reps to my top set. Managed to add 2 reps to this while still feeling like there are reps there. Last thing was log incline benching. I was a bit nervous with this with the continuing of work up to 2x5 and do “speed” work with that weight. I had questions about the “speed work” protocol with the workout updates. Initially, this was to be 10lbs increase while regular bench was 5lbs. But then with the adjustments made with having to work around the current hamstring concern/issue, the next jumps seemed to be a lot. 20lbs jumps for both (then a 10lbs). This was correct and the rational was that it was smaller/lighter to deal with the shoulder overtraining and that I should be recovered enough at this point that these jumps would be doable and still be strong. I could see the evidence for that with the bench last week but I wasn’t 100% sold on the log incline stuff as still was a feeling a little off last time. But trusting what I have here so here we go. Starting nothing special but I did feel like I was doing better as far as form and how it felt. A double with the weight I did last time felt really good and I felt that only if I screwed this up would these be any issue. First set felt really good. Second set was ok and I did hit the rack arms so that through me off a bit. But I’d say these felt stronger than 180lbs had felt last time. I think these changes were the right call as I feel that shoulders are recovering better. Doesn’t feel like a ton and I feel I can keep my shoulders stable better. Downed a weight gainer shake immediately after and put stuff away before stretching and then eating some more food to get as caught up as I was going to with meals before dinner later in the evening.

February 21, 2024 – Week 10, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

18” Wide Grip Jack Pulls w/ Hip Circle (straps)
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x2
405x2
455x2
500x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds
bwx83 seconds

Planks
bw+53x60 seconds

Side Planks
bwx60/60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: There had been no issues with Monday training and I have to reflect on where I am at as far as the competition. I’m in a mostly good spot prior to the injury. One that I’m hopeful will resolve enough to push full bore by start of next month. Overhead is in the mid 60%’s at the lowest as far as actual competition comparison (with actual set weights). But have over 3 months still to progress there and it isn’t like these working weights are max efforts right now. The yoke/frame medley stuff I was at low 90%’s/high 80%’s and the sandbag shouldering mid80%’s. Can’t really say with deadlift as haven’t done competition style but was feeling strong for myself. Also still waiting on the new deadlift suit. Bag toss is only like 3% off what I was doing the last workout before Nationals and I’m doing it for double the volume I did then. So again, not that far off with plenty of time. Assuming injury heals from the rehab stuff and workout modifications. This session, similar to the moving event training sessions, had some additional modifications made in the form of the deadlift work. But first warming up. Attempted to go off memory for the dynamic warming up stuff but I missed two exercises upon review and had to go back to do them. The dynamic moving stuff is kind of where I can test things and I get nervous with them but I know that I need to be able to confront that if I’m to get back to competing and training for the stuff I need to. Deadlift training is similar but different right now. So for now, that is elevating the pull height to where I’m hopefully not exacerbating things. Also having to temper things as hamstrings are known for “feeling good” before truly healed to handle the stress. So with this week being the “wide pull” week, I knew that it wasn’t a good idea to do these from the floor. So the modification was to do the same thing I’d been doing but from just below the knee. Still doing the sit back and using the hip circle. I went with using my jack stands at the top height to pull from, which is 18” or so. With how my knees are, I probably could’ve gone higher and still be ok but I felt that it would become a hassle with adding stuff and I wasn’t sure how the style of the wider pull would go for say not as stable a start if I did add anything besides the jack stands. I feel I don’t just lift up when I do these wide pulls. Plan here was to work up to a top set of five reps to what felt right/safe this day. Initially the plan was for 365lbs but when Mr. Westerling realized I had been able to do 585lbs for a double on the rdls last week with the tear and not make the injury worse, he increased the weight suggestion. But just suggestions as no clue what would be too much here and hopefully recovery was improving. But in either case, it was advised for 40-50lbs jumps so as to be able to fine tune but take bigger jumps. This was something that if it wasn’t bothering my hamstring, I was likely going to go a good bit over the suggested. The updated suggested top set was 405lbs. Even going for that weight, I felt it wasn’t going to be enough but I treated it as if it might be. The notes said 1-5 reps working up but I felt that it was best to do no less than doubles so that I got that initial pull and saw how things felt for the slight paused rep as those tended to be harder on the hamstring and body when I was doing these from the floor. So ended up with 500lbs for the top set. I felt I could do more but I didn’t want to risk it at this point with a new variation and pull height for me. These did feel comfortable but I could tell that my hamstring isn’t 100% yet. I could feel it fatigued quicker than the left side. A similar sensation when I was coming back from previous tears in my right biceps and right oblique. It will come back and soon but it does let me know not yet ready for all that I can bear on it. It was good to move this kind of weight though and I likely have another 50lbs there for sure. Got a little rest putting the weights away before finishing up the session with the core work. Hyper bench stuff back but no weights. I had worked the hamstring but it wasn’t in a state like it was last week after I had stressed it out with the rdls. So I could do them this week. Just bodyweight warming up with hyper extensions and then an unweighted hold. I wasn’t exactly sure on how long here but I could tell that my hamstring was ok but it would be the thing that fatigued first. This was one of those times that I miscounted at some point and dropped about 10 seconds off. I didn’t realize I was that close to 90 seconds here. I definitely could’ve done that. I just wasn’t sure if I should be going that long. That will probably be where I stop next time assuming doing them again with no weight. Put stuff away before the abdominal work. I did take some time as I was going to be done fairly early here and still get in a bowl of oatmeal before dinner in a few hours’ time. Regular planks to start with 53lbs in the backpack. These didn’t bother the hamstring at all so this was good. Felt fairly comfortable besides the sensation from the heavy elevated pulls. Flexing everything and breathing as I can. I’m noticing that my quads feel decently sore the day after these haha. Then a little rest before finishing up with the side planks. No weight. I switched sides I started on here. I notice I can’t full body brace nearly as hard as I can with prone planks. I did notice when doing the right side that I could feel some stress in that supporting leg. Not discomfort but I could feel fatigue there. Ate oatmeal before stretching. Hopefully this is a good sign and potentially I am back to normal training sooner than expected/planned.

February 24, 2024 – Week 10, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Yoke (casual pace, turf)
175x50’
300x50’
350x50’
400x50’
450x50’
500x50’
550x50’

Yoke Picks
600x5 seconds
650x5 seconds
700x64 seconds

Chest Supported Sandbag Rows
Slight Pauses
200x5
250x5
300x10
300x10
No Pauses
325x6

Stretching
 
Comments: Been feeling better about the hamstring. I’m not feeling the “resistance” I was the week before when it comes to walking and my normal gait. I’m surprised that the walking seems to be my best indicator for how the muscle endurance and feelings of pushing off with the legs for a sprint are feeling rather than any of the exercises for rehab. Not saying fixing things but the best indicators. I was feeling somewhat tempted to do the original workout but I know I should be sticking to things for this week and likely next week at least. Hamstrings can be deceptive with feeling good and coming back to it. Actually kind of surprised how stiff/sore I was feeling in my inner thighs and lower back from the elevated wide pulls. Plan was to go out to train at the gym. I did set my alarm for when I usually get up for work. Got food ready for travel and went to bed slightly earlier. But I decided to hit snooze until it was about 40 minutes later than the alarm originally wanted me to get up. Drive out was fine. A fair number of people when I showed up but they were winding down essentially at this point. I did check the warming up protocol to make sure I didn’t miss anything or do anything out of order. Yoke and sandbag session but with a good bit of modification. Yoke up first. Similar to frame carry last week, the plan was work up to a 50’ run of what I thought would be safe at the “casual” pace and then go up some more for a pick and hold. The jumps were smaller compared to the frame carry so there was going to be a good bit more volume here. Ended up using the turf lane again here. Left side lower back was feeling sore/tense from the elevated pulls. It hadn’t been feeling like enough to resort to a decompression with the dip belt. Also some tension in the right leg but not in the hamstring. It was more the calf and back of the knee. Not pain, just tension that had me a little hesitant. Both sensations went away as I did more walks and added weight. The suggested had been 500lbs but that had been when thinking that 400lbs or so was going to be it for the frame carry. So plan here was 550lbs. Which would be 50lbs more than the most weight I had done the last time I was instructed to do casual pace stuff coming back from an injury. This was fine and I could’ve kept going up. But don’t think there would be much sense in doing contest weight at casual pace. I know the hamstring is doing better as unlike with the frame carry, I wasn’t feeling the injured side getting fatigued. From there, it was pick and holds. Plan was initially the weight I did for the yoke runs last time but I felt that was too easy so contest weight. Like the yoke walks, these were 50lbs jumps. Left side chest/shoulder were feeling the strain on the first two picks so I thought perhaps these would be tougher than I was expecting. Unlike with the grip, it wasn’t like I was going to lose the hold here for the top set. I had decided to just aim for 45 seconds as that is about the time it took me to finish a 50’ run one time with no drops with 850lbs or so. I figure that holding that time would be about all I need. There was no tension issue for this one. It felt a little rough for 20 seconds but that is sometimes the threshold for holds where it doesn’t feel that great and then things just kind of set and I can tolerate it for a lot longer. It started to feel easier after 30 seconds and as I was getting closer to 45 seconds, I felt I should just do a minute and then stop there. I was also trying to brace everything so like a standing plank rather than the more relaxed state for a frame hold. My slow counting had it a little over that. I probably could’ve gone until boredom as I was feeling like I was locked in at close to a minute and not really feeling any weight at all. Sandbag stuff to finish up the session. Couldn’t really do the movement I got the tear on or really in any meaningful way. So work what we could. I had two options for this with the second option only being if I couldn’t get the setup to work for the first. That first option was something I’d never done before; chest supported sandbag rows. Look, I’ve done chest supported rows and sandbag rows, not together. I was advised this was going to be short ROM exercise and focus was for the gripping of the sandbag and building the wrists. I’ve been away from sandbags for a good bit and that kind of explains the left wrist not really enjoying the shouldering at this time with the heavier weights. What would make this tricky was going to be if I could safely get the sandbags in place (as well as having a bench that this would work with). If not, the backup would be double overhand axle rows using a chest supported bench setup. I figured the sandbag option was workable and that I’d be able to move sandbags around with the handtruck and be able to get into position. I had a feeling I’d likely need a heavy sandbag for this but worked up in 50lbs jumps. Plan was to do 3 sets of 5-10 reps with 1-2 of those sets having slight holds/pauses. I was able to use 300lbs for the paused sets and then attempted to do no pause set with 325lbs. I guess those two sets with slight pauses sapped me. But it was good to get to have my hands on the 325lbs sandbag in some capacity. I may need to reinforce my wrists with some athletic tape next time I do sandbag stuff but I could tell that this was something that I had been missing/neglecting. I know the hamstring isn’t 100% just yet but it is damn close. Have to think of the strategy of integrating back to full ROM and contest condition events going forward as that could be happening sooner than I was expecting (which is good news). Cleaned up and downed all the sustenance I had packed before driving home to put some more nutrients down and then stretching.