March 24, 2024 - March 30, 2024 - Week 15

 March 25, 2024 – Week 15, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
Clean Every Rep
100x5
130x3
Clean Once
160x2
190x2
220x2

12” Log Push Presses
220x2
220x2
220x2
220x5

Chest Supported Barbell Rows
135x5
185x5
225x5
Added Straps
265x5
315x5

Bench Presses
45x15
95x8
135x5
185x2
225x2
270x5
270x5

Stretching
 
Comments: So I was not in a good mood for this weekend after how Friday training had me feeling. Feeling a little depressed with myself and worried about the hamstring. But it did seem that I was ok. But to add insult to injury the rain that was to be all day Saturday stopped around noon so if I hadn’t changed a thing, I could’ve kept training as it was and possibly not had issues. If I can take anything from that session, it is that fatigued state severely impacts throwing for me and that even not at 100% I can still do ok. Spent the weekend trying to recover mentally more so than physically. I kept up meals and surprisingly still adding some weight. Getting close to 290lbs now. Got those shin splint feelings walking Sunday and then coupled with having to go into the office for the once a month meeting Tuesday wasn’t helping matters. The weather was at least nice for Monday. Keeping an eye on things as I warmed up and thankfully no issues. Log to start things off. This was the only thing I was concerned about because of the hamstring loading and ROM. But from what I had been testing out (picking stuff off the floor and stretching hamstrings) I should be ok. First two sets working up were clean and press every rep. This has been the first time in a while where I wasn’t just using the empty log to warm up. First set felt like garbage in how the joints and breathing were feeling. But I know that generally I feel crap at the beginning and then feel pretty darn good the next set. And that was thankfully the case as the next set felt easy as it should and crisp. 30lbs jumps up to a top double and then out of the rack work from there. Clean once stuff was feeling fine. Again, there was just some hesitancy making sure that I was picking the log up and not irritating things. Last time I did these, there was some fatigue noticed in the hamstrings and I didn’t notice that this time. My right calf was feeling tight but I think that has to do with other stuff being tight and what not since all kind of connected. Not painful, just tight. Feeling ok and stuff was moving well for me. It was just a 10lbs jump from last time (and same weight as axle last week) but this was also before I had that slight scare again. Clean may not have been 100% perfect but the pressing it felt crisp and light so very pleased with that. Out of the rack was next with the same weight for the doubles and such. Now last week I had the axle a notch too low and I guess I decided to overcompensate and make the height one too high for log this week. Making sure I write this done in my reference notes so I don’t keep guessing and screw things up when trying to save time. I’m not sure why out of the rack tends to be rougher on my knees for log stuff. So these weren’t feeling the best but looked pretty good. None ended up feeling as good as that first double with the clean and press. I was having to be cautious so as not to hit the rack supports on the dip and throw things off. So this meant being patient and controlled. It’s good that I’ve been working on that whole not panicking thing here with weights on the chest/shoulders. I’ve actually not done a set of 5 reps with over 210lbs on log in a while (and not since working with Mr. Westerling again) so things are fine. I just need to make sure I don’t rush things. I am curious if things will be adjusted as get closer as at this pace, will likely be at under 90% contest weight in training. I had to put away stuff before moving on to the stuff in the garage. I had not set things up like I did last time to make it easier to transition from one to the other but that was fine I guess. But I had to put away all the weights outside before I did the stuff in the garage this time. Chest supported rows to start off. Still sets of 5 working up to top set of 5 reps. Plan was 3 plates as I did a small jump the last time. Unlike say last time, these were all feeling pretty good working up in weight. So that was kind of surprising. I was tempted to go higher but figured that I’d hit 315lbs for the top set and if I felt like it was way too easy, go from there. Essentially, if I felt that I had 30lbs more in me would I go heavier. Usually that first set with straps feels a little tougher than I’d like and I get nervous about the next weight. Not really the case this time. But I didn’t want to let the form break here. No arms feeling a certain way here. Good controlled, reps. I’m actually getting close to what I’ve done with looser form on these. I actually don’t think I’ve gone above 315lbs on these in the first place. So this is improving still and hopefully means big gains in rowing power when allowed to slop it up with stuff like arm over arm or truck pulls. Quicker turnaround then for next thing which was bench. I was tempted to go a little heavier. Not because I felt I needed to but just because 275lbs just seems nicer with the 40-50lbs jumps. But I made myself stick to the plan here as need to be mindful with the pressing stuff. Now that shoulders are recovering enough between sessions, the incline log work is still moving fast like speed work but benching is not really like that. It is still a little tricky with getting the form right on bench with this grip. Still 2x5 with 10lbs more than last time so 270lbs (hence the 275lbs thought). Trying to not go so quick and get some break between the sets as the lighter stuff isn’t the issue. It is the above 135lbs weight as just seems to be 185lbs goes on the bar and it feels heavier by a good bit. It was a good move to stick to 270lbs as this did feel a little more challenging than 260lbs had felt last time. I didn’t quite get into a groove either set and I was fighting some hamstring tightness getting setup. I was feeling this in the arms a bit more than usual too I think on the second set. It was the only thing that felt remotely off and it wasn’t enough to even be concerned about. Ate oatmeal and put stuff away before stretching and ate dinner later.

March 27, 2024 – Week 15, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats
45x10
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x2
315x2
365x2

16” Jack Pulls (straps)
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x2
495x2
545x1
601x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds (Neck Harness & Plate)
10+20x52 seconds

Crunches
bw+20x30

Lying Leg Raises
bwx30

Stretching
 
Comments: So Tuesday wasn’t a great day. I awoke at about 2:40AM to vomit in my mouth from indigestion. My rule is generally that the day is done if I puke. But this wasn’t from sick or food poisoning. One meal I’ve been doing recently seems to be giving me indigestion many hours later that didn’t used to so I’ll have to see if a change up to it helps prevent this. This was the day of the month I had to go into the office which meant 1hr less sleep, getting very little actual work done during the day being in meetings and not being able to walk. I had been preparing with allergy meds ahead of time and it was a good call as it seemed everyone was feeling a certain way. I was feeling stuffy and took Nyquil to make sure I slept with no issues to help fight off whatever. That did seem to help some but not 100% and allergy meds to do the rest. Not ideal with the planned workout but doable I guess as not high reps. Mobility work was fine, no issues there. Paranoid still. Starting things off was front squats, working up to a top set of 2 reps again. I couldn’t really trust the weather as it was raining off and on and very likely it would start up raining again in the middle of it. Since this was going to be the heaviest I’ve gone so far, I had to weigh the pros and cons of sturdy rack in inclement weather or crappy rack with no risk or slippage from rain. I went with the option that had me out of the rain. The plan was to just go up 10lbs from last time. But this was so very close to a PR. 365lbs for a double is the most I’ve done on front squats and that stands from 2010. I think I’ve only attempted it twice a few months apart and results were the same where I was doing 40-50lbs jumps and making absolute grinders for those two reps and not even bothering to attempt a triple (the sets prior being all triples). Besides then I’ve done 345lbs I think for a triple using a front squat harness but that had allowed me to not keep good form. I felt I should be good for this and have some in the tank. It has been helpful to not think of this exercise as just legs but as a bracing drill and on the works the core and gets weights feeling comfortable for overhead pressing. As well as taking my time and not rushing. My only concerns I think were that I’d be masking stuff with allergy meds and that I was feeling bloated and a little worn from the day before still. That those could be issues for me with getting through this. Warming up standard here and then doubles at 225lbs. I’ve gotten somewhat used to things with that first lift with a belt as well as trying to keep myself cool for working up weights and save it for the top set. So now time for the top double. With how I was feeling, I was feeling like 80% chance I had this. I will say this felt tougher than 350lbs had felt but still felt there was at least another rep (maybe two) there. But what eventually was going to happen did with walking the weight back in and essentially being blind from the weights blocking line of sight as I missed the j-hook on the left side. It felt like a risk to try and get it on there and the setup felt secure enough for me to bail and get out of the way safely. Got to say those muscle clamps stay on pretty good. My cheap rack j-hooks for what I bought during 2020 lockdown bent on the right side and I needed to use a dumbbell to get it out. Will have to see if I can get a replacement for next time. And hope for no downpours next time as well so I can be in the better rack. I had also used bumper plates in case this happened lol. So with that mess, I had to take some down time to strip down the stuff and got some fluids in me. Next was jack stand pulls. Continuing the trend on lowering the pull height each session by a little bit. So this time it would be from 16”. Now I have a bit more practice with reps at this height so while not exactly on this setup, I’ve done several “indicator” pulls at this height in the past. Plan was work up to a top set of 5 reps and the suggested was same as last time with 585lbs. My hope here was that I was able to stay close to what I’d pulled the past two times but I wasn’t under any illusions that I’d be seeing the same kind of success as I did with the wide pulls with adding weight each time. That had more to do with regaining confidence and strength in the hamstring. I was worried here as this was going to be the most intense thing on the hamstrings so far with the most weight. I wouldn’t have reservations here considering the progress if I didn’t feel that slight shift during sandbag to shoulder Friday. So I was worried here as this was likely where things would act up going off of last time. So there was concern and hesitancy. Thankfully the lighter weights felt easy and like nothing. But as plates added up, I was getting a little paranoid. Like breaking the weight off the ground and after that being fine. I wasn’t confident in sticking to my plan of same weight and was going to do 585lbs but then talked myself up to add some weights back so that it was just over 600lbs. It would be known on that first rep if I screwed up. And thankfully I did not screw up as it went up fine and I probably could’ve done this with 605lbs after all the hype up. But these did get a lot tougher as I went. But still feel like at least a rep in the tank. I had made sure to chalk up my hands and the straps after how things felt with the wide pulls last time with the time under tension. I left the weights on the stands as I wanted to try and get through the rest of the workout to eat dinner as soon as I was done and attempt two more smaller meals before bed. Hyper bench work as per usual but back to getting to use more than just bodyweight for resistance. The usual back extensions to warm up. Felt good and needed. Same weight as the last two weeks here but with time frame increased to 45-50 seconds. I was seriously considering just doing a minute this time but held off. I miscounted (thankfully had timer) as I seem to do by 10 seconds and definitely could’ve held out for a minute or more here. I hesitated slightly before deciding to stop hence going a little over. From there, weighted crunches with 20lbs for 30 reps. These seem to go by better if I don’t just keep counting break up into number sequence chunks. Like surprised done so soon. I may add weight to these next time. The lying leg raises were about the same. I feel like these felt a little better than last time as far as compression in the discs after the heavy pulls. The movement takes longer to do than the crunches due the ROM so the counting break up isn’t as effective for me I think haha. Prepared dinner (testing to see if change stops the stomach issue) and put stuff away before eating then stretching.

March 30, 2024 – Week 15, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Sandbag Tosses (16’)
30x1
30x1
30x1
EMOM
45x1
45x0
45x1
45x0
45x1
45x1
45x1
45x1

Frame Carries
(16” pick)
180x50’
(18” pick)
276x50’
376x50’
476x50’
(20” pick)
568x11’
568x50’
660x50’
568x11’

Sandbag Rows
150x5

Sandbag to Shoulders
150x1 R
150x1 L
200x1 R
200x1 L
250x1 R
250x1 L
300x1 R
300x1 L

Stretching
 
Comments: It doesn’t feel like starting Monday that work is going to get a lot more hectic. I mean it is but doesn’t feel like it. Or I can’t be bothered with that. Tried to get myself to go to sleep a decent time as the plan was to get up an hour earlier than for work (and not hit snooze) so that I could get out and train and be back to go see “legos” with my nephews. I did get out of the house earlier than usual (but perhaps not quite as early) and drive out was fine. Actually the quickest it has been getting out there. I’d need to try and keep the dilly dally to a minimum so that I get through everything and be done with enough time to get several meals down before being out on the town. Kind of odd getting there before other people showed up. I was also expecting there to be a drop off in people considering that several competed the weekend before. But ended up being a decent amount of people eventually. Warming up felt pretty darn good. But I was leery after how last session had gone. Up first was bag toss. I really hoped that I didn’t suck on these this time around. I think my concern was that it seemed that I wasn’t quite recovered from the lower body session last time training a day earlier and I’ve been noticing that lower back is taking a little longer to recover as the weights have climbed and the difficulty rises with increased ROM. Warming up with swings and partial movements and also just trying to do some slight bounds to get the knees prepared as well. What has appeared to be a common thing is me biffing the first toss with not getting enough arc on it and going straight up. Which would be fine if it was a setup I could stand right under (like at Nationals and Regionals) but not when here or at home. Plan was to do 45lbs for five tosses EMOM again. I was bit worried because of how last time went. I knew at least that footing wouldn’t be an issue and the setup here was not going to “explode” like at home. First toss was great and I figured “hey, guess just a bad day last time”. Then I proceeded to miss the next toss with the arc being too shallow. I wasn’t going to restart and just tack one to the end I guess. I did get the third one but it wasn’t a convincing clear as it came down on the band (trust me, I zoomed in and slowed down all the tosses the hit the band to make sure they went over and not under lol). I then did the same thing as the second toss. I think at this point it finally clicked for me what the issue was. My lower back was fatigued and I wasn’t loading the hips/hamstrings higher. I was just going down and up and using my levers rather than doing the stuff that was having me get the extra “umph”. Once I got that down, I had no more misses (and did an extra just to make sure I got five). So I learned something there. But I likely wouldn’t make my tower at home explode again if I had done these at home with how most didn’t get a lot of clearance. Learning all the time. So bag toss done and then time for frame carry stuff. I knew what I was about on these from last time. Also knew what I could expect as well. Since nothing was sectioned off this week, I could do the warming up in the lanes unlike last time. Plan was work up in 50’ runs with pretty much 100lbs jumps up until the end with goal being 660lbs. So 20lbs more and just 20lbs off contest (though that is to be with yoke and running back so). I don’t think I had any doubts about this as I’ve done heavier stuff for longer distance with the big frame. But I’ve been hitting heavier weights with deadlifts in comparison to then. With warming up, I was trying to be controlled with things. Especially with the lower pick heights. Make sure standing up and then going. Feeling ok. Had to put the big door up and down while setting up the big frame. For that last time, I did feel like I wasn’t able to go as fast as I wanted to but it was the first session back to moving normal after 5 weeks away from it (and I noticed that in my calves the next few days). The other issue seemed to be with moving on the uneven pavement at top speeds and going from inside to outside with the sunlight. This could also be with belts getting tighter due to my weight increase (I have a new belt on the way due to how thick new deadlift suit fabric is). So with the empty frame run there was a slight slow down halfway because of the issue I mentioned last time with the first outside run. Need to not have that sloppiness on the last set. I was making good time as far as training. Wanted this to go well and to not have myself feel off. I do feel that I was able to move faster compared to last time but I think I gave up some stability in that pursuit of speed. It will be interesting to see how this is going to be when yoke gets added. Sandbag to shoulder for the last thing. I was more nervous for this compared to the bag toss. Though both bag toss and sandbag to shoulder have caused injuries (shoulder when tried to catch bag vs hamstring strain). It’s never injury with bag toss, but missing and looking like a chump. The ask for this session was 300lbs for single each side. I’ve done over 300lbs to the left side but before this cycle 250lbs was the most to the right side. So the 275lbs 7 weeks ago has technically a PR for that side. I was gun shy after how 265lbs had felt for my right hamstring going for that right side. But even with getting down on myself, I knew getting sleep and taking a step back helps with figuring out the problem. I noticed that I didn’t have that sensation of something “shifting” when I did it for the left side so it is likely with how I’m loading the body for the pick that is exacerbating things. I did end up having a bit of break here because someone at the gym was dealing with some issues related to feeling “not good enough” for Nationals and getting “too old” and I’ve been there and talked with them a bit. Anyways, warming up I was testing out different ways to pick up the sandbags. Some things in my head didn’t feel like how I was expecting them. The sandbag size for Regionals is such that it is not a bag where an upright bearhug style is beneficial because of how far down I’d have to be and it would be more effort on the lower back. It does seem that the style of pulling to the side and having it land on my feet works best but there are issues. I was nervous with 300lbs and let things settle before initiating the pick. I was in the clear when no issues pulling it up. I was very pleased to get over it. The other side I think I had a little more issues with the “settling” before picking and doing the actual movement. Which is where we run into an issue potentially. It does seem to cut down on the unbalanced loading but it is slower, which is why I’ve been doing the quicker movements. But either style isn’t really conducive to repeat efforts as the bag will be flat on the ground. So more practice needed. But I was happy with how the day went and managed to eat meals at the gym and again when I got home before got out to be with nephews and my older sister for lego stuff. The “fest” was a bust but ended up finding a small business in the area for rare legos so it worked out. Then a day early Easter dinner with family before getting home to stretch and hydrate.

March 17, 2024 - March 23, 2024 - Week 14

 March 18, 2024 – Week 14, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Clean and Overhead (1 clean)
Strict Presses + Push Presses + Jerks
46x5+5+5
70x3+3+2
Push Press + Jerks
100x1+1
130x1+1
160x1+1
190x1+1
220x1+1

Axle Push Presses + Jerks
220x1+1
220x1+1
220x1+1
220x4+1

Band Assisted Pull-ups
sb+lbx5 at pin 16
ab+lbx5 at pin 16
sbx5 at pin 16
abx5 at pin 16
lbx9 at pin 16

12” Log Incline Bench Presses
90x10
120x5
150x3
180x2
200x1
215x5
215x5

Stretching
 
Comments: Saturday was a good session to see where things were. I was able to go fast and not feel like my hamstrings were going to tear, hit consistent PR weight and height on the bag toss and starting to get back to appreciably weight on the sandbag to shoulder. The only issue I guess besides just some slight aches in the shoulders and neck was that my lower legs were really sore. I guess that is one thing not really hit when doing the casual pace stuff for the moving events. Calves are where the after boost comes from. Assuming things still go well, I may be able to drop the rehab stuff this week or next. Also still gaining weight and I was surprised that after being at 285.8lbs for two weeks that I’d just go right back 286lbs to 287lbs. It sounds like the new deadlift suit should be ready within 3 weeks’ time. The warm weather is going away for a bit. Time to get to training. Warming up felt fine and dandy. I’m definitely getting used to the increased dynamic warm up stuff and I’m glad more often then not that that I don’t feel like my joints are aching. Axle to start off the training and seeing as how last time it went well with me pulling from the floor all the way up to the working weight, I shouldn’t have issues with this go around either. Slight adjustments to the warming up weights where I’m doing the strict pressing to start and then the other styles of overhead. I wasn’t sure how my right knee was going to feel and thankfully it wasn’t really doing anything out of the ordinary. I’m not exactly speedy on my transitions quite yet. As in going for the press after the catch on the shoulders. And certainly not from going from one style to the other. There is a delay in switch but I think it is less in that I can’t go faster and more that I’m trying to not rush things and trying to treat these like these are max weights for me. I was noticing less hesitancy in the start of the lift. But also that the shirt I picked wasn’t probably the best (but I also didn’t chalk it up). Trying to treat things in a way that I’m not stressing out. I did chalk up my shirt a little bit for the top weight just so I didn’t get thrown off if it slid down to my belt. Apparently I took this weight to be heavier than it was as I essentially pulled it all the way up to my sternum with my second pull so I was a little thrown off that it was there and not a bit lower like usual. The push press felt easy and so was the jerk but I was a little shallow I think so there was a slight press out. Don’t want that. Rack work after that with the same weight. As has been the case, complex of push press and then jerk. These were a little harder to unrack and I realized it was because I had the rack arms a setting lower than I usually have them so there was a little more squatting up than usual. But perhaps I should do that if this is to work on pressing as if I’ve cleaned the weight without cleaning the weight as I will likely catch it a little lower anyways. Once I realized that I did have the setting lower and accepted that I was fine with moving forward. Maybe a little nervous for the last set where I could do some reps. Since last time that last jerk had irritated my right knee. The push presses were fine and dandy. I took my time with the jerk and it might have been my most explosive one of the day and yeah, no knee issue this time. I forgot that last time I did this session I had cooked up a bowl of oatmeal before moving to the next thing so I got that ready and would have to wait to eat. So on to band assisted pull-ups. I kept the knee sleeves just because again and just convenience. Same as last time and for several weeks now with the 5 sets of 5 reps to a top set with 5-15 reps range. But the last session I had modified the resistance/assistance sot that I was staying at the same pin setting and swapping out band tensions. Taking what I learned from last time with the band combos, I think I got them this time that each set was getting less assistance. Trying to pull up explosively and then lower with control. I’m surprised when sometimes that working up sets will feel like maybe I should have this be the working set but then the working set feels pretty darn good. I had scraped the back of one knuckle on the concrete picking up the bumper plates and that knuckle decided to bleed a good bit. But kept it from affecting things. Managed to add a rep to the set from last time. Then I could eat my oatmeal. Last thing was log incline benching. Same as last time with 2x5 continuing. But just a 5lbs increase from last time. The warming up was slightly different and I was kind of going through it pretty quick as the weather wasn’t looking great and I felt like it. It has been giving me a peace of mind that these are moving again like they had before. No wonky shoulder stabilization and just strong and fast pressing. Like I’m enjoying the lift again and not dreading it like I was when it felt bad and I was missing lifts. Only a slight break between the sets because it started flurrying a bit and I wasn’t sure if this was the portents of another snow squall like earlier this month. It was not thankfully and I got the sets down. Put stuff away before getting out the ladder and fixing the toss tower (I’ll be needing it this Spring with gym closed some weekends coming up). Stretching followed and then eating dinner.

March 20, 2024 – Week 14, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

13” Wide Grip Jack Pulls w/ Hip Circle (straps)
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x1
455x1
495x1
545x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds (Neck Harness & Plate)
10+20x45 seconds

Planks
bw+53x60 seconds

Side Planks
bwx60/60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: This March weather is for the birds. Unpredictable. Before this week, I knew that this the coming weekends could be an issue with some things with the weather and the gym being closed for competitions. I had been hoping when I was out at the gym on Saturday that there would be a posting about the hours for Saturday to find out if it was worth it coming after the competition. Early predictions saying there was going to be rain but then checking it Monday and Tuesday it looked like it was going to be rainy a day earlier so Saturday would be fine. Now it is back to being rainy Saturday. So I’ll have to think on all my options and figure what makes the most sense. But I’ll save that for later. For when I get this workout done and see what is what. This session is the shorter of the two alternated sessions for the Day 2 lower body sessions. Because I’m only doing one heavy movement. Warming up I guess felt fine. I had done some foam rolling for my calves the day before as they were still feeling sore from Saturday. I was feeling a little tired and yawning a little while warming up. Not ideal for what I had planned here. But warming up was feeling pretty good I guess on most things. One of the last things involves a large ROM floor to overhead with some light weight and I ended up not paying attention and hit myself in the forehead. I’ve done over 1100 reps of this exercise in the past 6 months and have one rep hit my head and get a little scrape/cut. If I wasn’t awake then, I was now. Then it was time for the wide pulls. Still elevated. Same as it was the last few times, with plan to work up to a top set of 5 reps but have it be 2-3” lower. With using the jack stands, the next height would be 13”. A bit of a jump considering it has 2” last time. I was really hoping to do well here. If I hit what I wanted, I was thinking I’d drop the rehab stuff completely. So what was suggested from the past two sessions was to do 495lbs for the top set. Again I felt that my hamstring was getting better and that while I didn’t leave as much in the tank that I still left some. So hopefully that meant that I had 545lbs in me for that top set of five reps. Of course, I was not going to push it if it didn’t feel right. And it wasn’t feeling like this was the day to do it with the yawning at the beginning. The lower height felt a little different I think with the setup. My right lat was feeling pretty stiff with breaking weights off the ground so I was watching that too. But putting on the hard belt for 455lbs that sensation went away and I felt like maybe 545lbs was back on the table. But I setup for 495lbs to be the top set just in case. I got set and pulled. I knew then that 545lbs was there unless I messed up. So the bar was loaded and I got myself ready. Nice and controlled. The hamstring will hold. Do it. This was definitely challenging. I had not chalked up the straps or my wrists but it would’ve probably been a good idea as this was feeling as difficult as when I did the 570lbs rdls that one time and miscounted. It was a good bit of time under tension and required a good bit of effort. I also was having to get my air at the top of the lift so that I could do the pauses and pulls. It’s a good bit of weight pulling down and out in front. So some fighting of staying conscious. I was really worried I had miscounted and only did four reps but it turns out I got it right. This elevated cycle of wide pulls has been really helping me with building the confidence and power with this style of pull to build up the hips and hamstrings. I didn’t put weights away at this point as I wanted to get through the other stuff with some urgency so that I could eat a bowl of oatmeal and then put stuff away and stretch before dinner. Hyper bench followed that. Back extensions to get things loose. Plan was to do same weight as last time but to do 40-45 seconds. I figured I’d see how it felt as my hamstrings and glutes were really getting worked last time. These did end up feeling less taxing this time around and when the timer went for 40 seconds I just held for another 5 seconds or so before putting down. Good to see that the endurance is returning. Tried to move on to the planks after that but didn’t want to rush things too much. Same weight as it has been as this seems to be a good weight at 53lbs in the backpack. Felt fine albeit a little tough on the midsection (as expected). Side planks were fine I guess. Barely  noticing the right leg needing to support like in the past few sessions. Bracing on the left side felt tougher than usual for the upper body. Usually the midsection is harder to brace when on the right side. I guess that is why I tend to change up which side I start with. With training done, I got a bowl of oatmeal and put away plates. Then, as training at home for some of Day 3 might be the case, I did go and fix the toss tower setup with the ladder before stretching out.

March 22, 2024 – Week 14, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Sandbag Tosses (16’)
30x1
30x1
30x1
30x1
45x1
45x1
45x0
45x0
45x1
45x0
45x0
45x1
45x0
45x0

Sandbag Rows
112x5

Sandbag to Shoulders
112x1 R
112x1 L
175x1 R
175x1 L
225x1 R
225x1 L
265x1 R
265x1 L

Stretching
 
Comments: The best laid plans. So with the adjustments to the Day 3 sessions to reduce volume of certain exercises but increase frequency added to some logistical issues. Namely with every other weekend for the next 5 weeks being with the strongman gym closed and having to deal with the weather issues was leading to some headaches. Such as figuring out other gym availability and such. One option as far as the closest gym with what I’d need for prep didn’t get back to me until Friday. The closer gym would only really be good for one thing and there isn’t enough space inside for the moving event and likely not want me using their stuff outside in the rain. And that was what the weather was saying for Saturday. Pretty much rain all day and stopping around 5pm. And if I tried to do training at the strongman gym after the competition (7pm) it was supposed to be raining out there at that time too. So I decided to deviate from my routine and do what I usually do on Saturday on Friday after work. What that would mean would be doing stuff at home and then driving out to the one gym to do stuff and then drive back home to finish up stuff. I rationalized it to myself that I’d be able to just rest all day Saturday and Sunday to make up for it. Warming up stuff had felt fine. Was feeling good and all. And that was about all that I was going to feel good on unfortunately. As mentioned last time, the plan with bag toss was to do it every weekend with 5 EMOM singles and the focus not on adding weight so much as getting form focused. I had spent time during the week to get my throwing bag to 30lbs or so and set aside the sand I took out in a separate container so that I could easily add it back in so that I wasn’t spending a lot of time. I did the usual stuff I do for warming up the 30lbs sandbag with different styles of swings and extension drills before doing the “clean pull” tosses. The first of those felt crap but the second felt right. The first actual toss got good but I didn’t get much drive out of my lower body. I think my left foot slipped a little on the mat. Plan was three tosses to get the feel and move on but the third one was so squirrely I did fourth toss that was good. Then it was time to do the working sets with 45lbs. Went for the first toss and it cleared the top of the setup barely and knocked the setup slightly apart. Which visually was irritating me as that meant the crossbar was tilting down so it wasn’t exactly 16’ uniform across the setup. I didn’t have enough time to get the ladder setup before the next toss and that one also went over fine and slightly better than the first. After this is when things went to crap. I got the setup fixed and rushed for the next toss and it was about 6” too short and arc was bad. Same thing on the next toss but the arc was shallower and it crashed down on the brace crossbar causing the right half of the uprights to come crashing down. And it looked like the fall had damaged one of the pvc attachments and I couldn’t make it have a crossbar in the short time. However, I was able to get a good toss after those two misses. But then I decided to suck. I was able to get the height but my arc was way too shallow so it was coming down right on the brace crossbar. The setup survived the first miss but the second miss was devasting as it pretty much disintegrated the joints of the setup. I was about done with myself at this point. I wasn’t even following the EMOM protocol. I just wanted to get five good tosses. I took what surviving joints I had to make something resembling a target. Which was my last good toss of the day. But it was not clearing it and it took it down with it. After two more bad tosses, I called it there. I had spent about 30 minutes with trying to get the setup fixed and whatnot and I was really frustrated. My lower back was feeling stiff and my knees weren’t cooperating with me. The every other week bag toss seems to suit me better as far as recovery goes. This didn’t feel good and felt like one of my worst bag toss sessions in recent memory. I think it also has to do with added stress but with asking more of my knees with increased frequency on the leg drive based pressing. I guess it is good I’m getting a reaction this quickly rather than a few sessions in and having to spend time figuring out what went wrong like with say doing the supports for overhead too much and heavy. I was pretty much done after the bag toss mentally. About halfway through that I had already decided I wasn’t going to bother driving to a gym to do yoke with how stiff my back and knees felt and trying in traffic there to load up weights outside and bring them back in and then driving back home to do more stuff didn’t work. I do have a yoke at home. Two actually. One is/was my base for viking press and the toss tower (though that has been destroyed and will need repairs if I’m doing it again) and the other is 90lbs empty. Both have very thin crossbars and I’d rather not deal with those when I was already feeling a certain way. But rather than completely give up, I decided I’d at least do sandbag stuff with the rows into shouldering. My plan had been to do sandbag shouldering at home this session because it would be a nice gap from 225lbs to 300lbs if that is the plan for next time. I don’t have that big a variety of sandbags but it works for this session in particular. Sandbags of 112lbs, 175lbs, 225lbs and 265lbs were to be used. I have 363lbs after that and that isn’t happening. The rows to warm up felt fine. When it comes to sandbags, I’ve been preferring the newer style with the Velcro covers vs the ones I have to seal with duct tape. That first sandbag of 175lbs felt so awful shouldering because of how floppy it is. Reminds me what I tend to skip those kinds of bags when warming up at the other gym. But perhaps it was good to have it be tougher than it should be so that I took things seriously as I went up in weight. 225lbs went better in comparison. I was taking time setting up the individuals bags between the sets but taking relatively short rests between sides. I was also tossing the bags out of the way once I finished with shouldering to both sides so out of the way and I’d be able to get the next one. Then 265lbs. Should be no problem. Should’ve. So with the other bags, I was laying them down and setting my grip beforehand but when I was going for the working weight, I was doing what I’d do in competition as likely standing upright and knocking them over to be to the side. After this session, I may need to change that because going for that pick on the first bag I felt a familiar sensation in the right hamstring. There was no pop or pain but I felt stuff shift there and I was immediately concerned but finished the rep. There was no cramping sensation like last time but I was spooked. I took a longer rest between the sides before going for the other side. There was no sensation of any  kind that time but I was a bit more deliberate with things so it was a little tougher with getting to the shoulder compared to the other side. No pain but it has me a little shook and questioning if something is wrong. Uncertain if the soreness in my hamstrings is uneven and if it is more than just soreness. It took a bit for me to get myself to calm down and eat as well as eventually stretch. I need to use these two days of rest to recover mentally and proceed with caution. I really hope it is nothing but phantoms.

March 10, 2024 - March 16, 2024 - Week 13

March 11, 2024 – Week 13, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
Clean Every Rep
90x5
120x3
Clean Once
150x2
180x2
210x2

12” Log Push Presses
210x2
210x2
210x2
210x5

Chest Supported Barbell Rows
135x5
185x5
225x5
Added Straps
265x5
310x5

Bench Presses
45x15
95x8
135x5
185x2
225x2
260x5
260x5

Stretching
 
Comments: Taking off for the shifts in time for DST is probably going to be an ongoing thing for me while I work. I know that I’d have been off all day with the “losing” of an hour over the weekend. Body wants to wake up at what would be the normal time even without an alarm set. Another day to not be forced into a rigid timing is hopefully enough for me to acclimate. So besides swapping out training with walking and rehab stuff, this was going to be darn close to a repeat of Sunday. Weight is holding above 285lbs still so it wasn’t a fluke with last week. Some training is hopefully getting back to the normal routine from the minor hamstring tear a month ago. I didn’t want to make the mistake I did last time I was off on a Monday and ended up training a little later in the morning/afternoon and just having it mess up all the meal timing to not be full/uncomfortable. March weather is unpredictable so it was both sunny and very windy today. Warming up routine was fine. I think this is the first time since making the modifications that I wasn’t having a thought in the back of my head that my hamstring would reinjure doing stuff. Maybe because I got the achy right knee to preoccupy me. It honestly didn’t really affect anything warming up. My left shoulder started aching for no reason when I was done and disappeared as quickly as it happened. I hadn’t worn warm ups while doing my warming up but figured I’d wear them to keep warm as I was setting up stuff in the garage and outside to try and streamline the training session a little. I probably didn’t need them with how it was sunny outside and the wind was apparently higher up compared to where people be at. Unlike the current rotation with the axle week, not everything benefits from being done outside. Log to start things off. Back to cleaning the log. I was some what uncertain here. On one hand, I did do the same weight from the floor (lower pick) with the axle. And that requires a bit more power right away. And I had done sandbag stuff on Saturday. But this was out in front of the centerline and the movement was a bit different. This was also changed in that the first two sets working up were to be clean every rep. I’m definitely a bit out of practice on that but it was light. The recovering hamstring was feeling a little tight/crampy. I think it was more just the weight load (out front) and the ROM (full squat and driving up) that was causing the issue there. Not a lack of strength, more that the right hamstring is still recovering and fatigues quicker. One of the downsides with pressing outside earlier in the day with nice weather is getting the sun right in my eyes. Yes, facing the other way does solve that but the plan was to do most of the sets out of the rack like I’ve been doing so it didn’t really make sense to do one way and swap the other. So there was some visual issues as well as the knee aching causing me to be cautious with the lower body drive here. I’d say besides those two things, these were feeling pretty good. I could tell that getting weights out in front of the center of gravity were putting similar strain on the hamstrings as the hyper bench holds (I had noticed with the yoke walk hold Saturday). So it is probably a good idea to keep those in and build as well as continue with isometrics in the rehabbing for the moment. Out of the rack was next with the same weight. You know the drill at this point with the doubles and then doing 2-5 reps on the last set. Again, besides the hesitancy caused with the achy right knee and the sun, I feel that these went well. Not panicking with weight on my chest and rushing it. Bar path feels better and the weight doesn’t feel darn heavy on my chest like it was a month or so back. I put some weights away before moving on to chest supported rows in the garage. It seems I’m at a 5 sets of 5 reps to a top set for the day place for these right now. I felt that last time I had been a little too greedy on these. Can’t blame me for how well they had gone the time before that. My plan was the same working up sets and then for the top weight giving myself the option if feeling good to do 3 plates. Last week, the right biceps had been the one that had felt tight. Now it is the left. I’m more used to the left feeling tight when it is after a session of sandbag to shoulder. So I guess back to normal with the exercise rotation. Outside of the first two warming up sets, it was feeling heavy today. Like maybe do less weight than last time kind of deal. But as is sometimes the case, all these indicators can be misleading. So I stuff with just doing the minimum to add (2lbs) and got myself set. And it went well to the point that I was annoyed that I hadn’t done 315lbs instead. Oh well, I guess I better do it next time. Bench last thing for the session. These are still indicated as “speed” work but I try to not let myself get upset if I don’t feel like they are moving fast enough. I feel fast with the incline log benching now that my shoulders seem to be able to handle the adjusted workload. But regular bench has never really seemed to feel speedy for me. Close grip I get with the long arms and the stretch reflex but not so much here. Still as working up to 2x5. It looks that the jumps are going to be 10lbs on these. So same warm ups as last time and then the top sets. I think these felt a little better compared to last time. The weights above 135lbs do feel heavier than I’d like but not as much if that makes sense. With the working weight, I did try to not feel like I need to rush here. First set was ok. Second set the weight felt light on the unrack but I didn’t have quite the right/secure grip on it so I was a little off I think. The bar path was a bit more forward than usual. But this was fine and plenty of reps in the tank. It was a mixture of eating/drinking stuff and putting away things. Then eating/drinking some more and stretching out.

March 13, 2024 – Week 13, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats
45x10
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x2
315x2
350x2

18” Jack Pulls (straps)
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x2
495x2
545x1
605x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds (Neck Harness & Plate)
10+20x30 seconds

Crunches
bw+20x30

Lying Leg Raises
bwx30

Stretching
 
Comments: The day off work to get a little more adjusted to the time shift was helpful I think. Meal timing feels a little off but I am working on getting to bed at the right time. I got distracted Tuesday evening and missed a meal (just bowl of oatmeal). It has been quite warm this week. Right knee is achy still but thankfully it isn’t something where it is always that case so I can exist and walk without it being an issue. But it was slightly concerning with the planned stuff. Mobility stuff feeling fine. No hamstring issues for two sessions in a row so I’d say that is a good sign. Right knee barely aching on stuff so I was hopeful that it wouldn’t be a major issue or hamper training and continue to improve. Front squats starting things off with the plan being to work up to a top set of 2 reps again. It had been raining last time so I had gone inside for this rather than using the sturdier rack where I can put safeties that would actually do something. The plan was 15lbs more than last time on these. It is hard to gauge as a weight can be really difficult for me if I’m not really serious and have myself with elevated focus and breathing. The idea with these to work up to something good and to not have it be that bad. It is hard to keep things low key when nervous about stuff. I was nervous about the right knee. Nervous about the weight. Nervous about my right hamstring. Nervous about failing. Not helpful thoughts. I’ve done sessions where my knees have been really achy and still did well. The issue comes when there is pain or the weight feels heavy everywhere when it shouldn’t. So warming up was normal with 40-50lbs jumps, swapping to doubles at 225lbs. I knew how rough the first set with the hard belt feels so I knew to expect that with 275lbs. It didn’t feel like something I should be able to do for a decent amount of reps really. I think part of it was just getting enough to warm up and feel a solid double but not to exhaust what I felt was needed for the top planned set. Similar to not running every set warming up on moving events at full tilt from the get go. 315lbs I got set and it felt about the same. So 40lbs more and feeling about the same was a good sign. But still super nervous for the top weight of 350lbs. If successful, 15lbs under my best double on front squats. 35lbs under my best single lift. Anxiety was pretty bad worrying about failure and injury that I dry heaved twice before I could get things settled to lift. I’m thankful that I’ve gotten much better at not panicking with weights on my shoulders and take my time to brace and breath. I had gotten pretty hyped here and it went up for what looked like a comfortable double. And I likely had at least 2 more reps in me. It’s stuff like that where it’s like what was the worry even about? But then if I hadn’t been that amped would’ve I been able to do it and make it look as good as it did? I think what I was most pleased with here was I didn’t feel any tightness in the right hamstring which was something I had felt the last two times I did these. So another check that hamstring is getting better. Right knee was probably going to be achy but the rest of the workout wasn’t really going to stress things out that much I felt. Stripped down the stuff so that I had time to come back down and get some fluids in me as it was warm and I was having issues trying to keep fluids down at the moment. Jack stand pulls in the garage. No hip circle for these I guess going forward. That honestly wasn’t doing that much with my usual stance but are great with the wide stance pulls. It would appear the plan is to be lowering the pulls each time to get closer to the ground. Now these “rack pulls” were replacing the rdls so only the wide pulls were really pulls from the floor as the stopping point was always about 2” below the knees or so. So I’d say these are closer to getting back to the normal compared to the wide pulls. These had been 21” last time so advised to drop them down to 18”, which was expected. I did ask for clarification on the position here as indication was to pull these as if this is where I’d be during this part of the pull and then try and keep a hips back groove for the subsequent reps with pause at the bottom. The clarification coming to be where I “should” be in this part of the pull on a good pull rather than where I might end up being. Plan working up here was plate jumps to 495lbs and then a single at 545lbs before doing 585lbs for the top set. These are harsher on the lower back compared to the wide grip pulls but I was hopeful that I would be feeling better this time around with the hamstring improving. I had gone up over 25lbs on the wide pulls going down 2” and still felt like I left a good bit in the tank. But these were certainly a bit different of a situation with the higher start and not really being able to get lower body drive into these. I wanted to do 600lbs again so I told myself I could do it and put 605lbs on the bar for the set of 5 reps. After that rough first rep, I felt good to do quite a bit more as far as reps. So that felt good to be pushing weights on both deadlift variations and front squats. I did want to eat a quick meal but with seeing how the pace was going and what was to come, I realized it wasn’t worth it to make a risk and rather just start prepping dinner to be able to eat as soon as I finished and perhaps do a small meal between that time and when I went to bed. Hyper bench work as per usual but back to getting to use more than just bodyweight for resistance. The usual back extensions to warm up. The plan for progression here was to pick a resistance (combo or neck harness and holding weight) that I felt I could hold for 60 seconds and do just 30 seconds with the plan to progress by 10-15 seconds each time I guess. I know stuff is still recovering and that I’m actually hitting heavier stuff overall now. I made a guess at 10lbs for the harness and 20lbs holding. I was feeling the effects of the other lifting on my body and there is still noticeable fatigue in posterior chain in the hamstrings and glutes. The resistance is potentially a little much but perhaps not that far off considering I was counting slower in my head then the timer for the 30 seconds that came and went. See how it goes next time. Since I wasn’t rushing to finish to eat a small meal and then wait for dinner but rather go right to eating dinner, I did take a little bit of time to let myself rest before finishing up with abdominal work. Same setup as the last time with the weight crunches being with 20lbs for 30 reps. This actually felt better than when I did these last time. Easier, maybe my breaking down the reps in my head as I did them helped. The lying leg raises were about the same. Put stuff away as I finished up with preparing dinner. I ended feeling quite stuffed from dinner and didn’t bother with oatmeal before bed. Stretched out after eating.

March 16, 2024 – Week 13, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Sandbag Tosses (16’)
30x1
30x1
EMOM
45x1
45x1
45x1
45x1
45x1

Frame Carries
(16” pick)
180x50’
(18” pick)
276x50’
376x50’
476x50’
(20” pick)
568x11’
568x50’
640x50’
568x6’

Sandbag Rows
150x5

Sandbag to Shoulders
150x1 R
150x1 L
200x1 R
200x1 L
225x1 R
225x1 L

Stretching
 
Comments: Surprisingly I guess, it would appear that sometimes the aches and such just need time and more weight. With the weights moved on Wednesday and concerns with the achy knee, I wasn’t expecting things to feel “good” shortly after that. Oh well. Not going to complain about that. Not to say it is feeling 100% but about a million times better. I was able to also get in walking both days despite spotty rain. It was getting a little uncomfortable with the temperature increasing to the low 70’s for a few days and was going to be equally annoying that it will be dipping back down to the 40’s in the next few days and towards the end of the month with possible snow still. Ugh. With how the lower body static stuff has felt, I think I’m finally feeling like I’m able to utilize the added bulk to my advantage in things. I mean, haven’t pushed the overhead stuff yet but I think coupled with recovery that stuff is feeling light on the shoulders and my core is a good bit sturdier with weights and bracing. Plan for this day was to get out to train somewhat early to get used to it as I may need to travel out of state to train next weekend and the week after that I need to make sure I get training done early so that I can be available for a planned event. I think I only had to hit the snooze button once or twice from my usual work wake up time so I’d say that was a bit of win there. But I think I was a bit slow with getting a move on to actually get out to train though. Drive out was fine. The gym doors were open when I got there. I was not really expecting some people to be there as a good number of the people that have been coming are competing next weekend. But there were still some of those people there training. I mean, nice to seem them but I kind of feel like they might not be able to peak as well as they could for the show. Or perhaps they don’t really need it. Got the warming up stuff done and felt pretty good on everything and then it was time to train. So while bag toss was to start things off, there has been some adjustments to the training at this time at least for the next few weeks. We are on the second half of the training towards Regionals at this point. So far, bag toss has been every other week with the working weight being for 10 EMOM singles. Going forward, it will be every week for 5 EMOM singles and the focus not on adding weight so much as getting form focused. This increased frequency and lower volume is also being applied to sandbag to shoulder for the end of the workouts. But I’ll get to that when I get to that. With bag toss, I had asked Mr. Westerling what he felt would be a good weight here with not aiming to go up in weight every session, keeping in mind I was going a foot higher than contest and like three sessions have been in inclement weather. Suggested was to either keep it the same weight or go up to 3lbs more as long as I felt it was safe. Anything over 43lbs was going to be a PR for this height. So of course, I decided to make it 45lbs. Did some warming up with the 30lbs sandbag with different styles of swings and extension drills before doing the “clean pull” tosses. Actual tosses the first one I got a lot of height on it but my arc was way too narrow and I was too far away so it went almost straight up and down. Corrected that for the second toss. I felt that was enough warming up but maybe I should’ve done one more. First toss with the 45lbs bag had similar issue as the first toss with 30lbs. I figured that I’d just tack an attempt on at the end to make up for it. I think I was a little surprised that the increase in weight was that noticeable as this was feeling like how 42.6lbs had felt last year in that final session before Nationals but I’d say with a bit more consistency in getting the needed height. If anything, most of them were hitting the target on the way down as my arc was a bit too shallow for what is needed. But should be fine for actual contest as I can get closer with the setup at Regionals. Also taking the feeling that a toss isn’t a PR unless I can hit it for multiple attempts because of how these can be. The expected last rep didn’t go as planned as I got a little off balance and didn’t get the usual power so I had to redo that one and got it. It is possible that some of this was from me already thinking I’d done this in my head as well as picturing how it would look in a video clip later (the walk up and the Arnold double biceps and twist lol). But got to have some fun with this. So bag toss done and then time for frame carry stuff. Again, I was a little nervous here. Now last time it had been from still getting back to things with the hamstrings and having seen a few hamstring injuries at the Arnold. Also planning for big weights to be moved in a way I’ve not really pushed (casual pace stuff). This time was only some of that (hamstring stuff) but in a different way. Walking slow was fine and all but how would the hamstrings do with me trying to go fast? I’ve been very deliberate with my picks on both yoke and frame since as well as for the elevated deadlifts. I was allowed to go as fast as I felt comfortable with so the restrictions had been lifted essentially. Plan was work up in 50’ runs with pretty much 100lbs jumps up until the end with goal being 640lbs. So hopefully 20lbs more than last time but at actual moving speed and going from where I left off really. This was easier said then done. Because the competition is happening next weekend, the lanes were a bit occupied. Not sure because of placement but repainting and marking stuff as well as some concrete work being done to try and fix a divot. So that meant that I couldn’t warm up in the usual spot and I’d have to move stuff with the handtrucks to another spot. This also meant figuring out where I wanted stuff to stop so that putting it away wasn’t such a chore. I’d need to warm up on lighter stuff since the empty big frame is 568lbs. I was able to do the lightest setup just on the turf lane and then moved on to the beefier setup in the wind tunnel before moving outside. I was still being a cautious with the picks here. I didn’t feel any issues with going fast thankfully. I did have a little bit of a weird occurrence with 376lbs. It was perhaps a combination of holding my breath as well as the bright sunlight in my eyes as I went from inside to outside as I kind of slowed down a lot about halfway. I didn’t have that issue for anything else. It was nice to be outside running with the frame again. Not having to worry about setting down gently and just going fast. With the bigger frame, I tried to not be so deliberate on the pick. It was a higher pick and I know I need to move fast here. There was some hesitancy with that so I’d repeat the process a few times before I’d actually go. 640lbs felt just fine and moved well as it should. I got 80lbs to add to this before show time. Not too concerned with speed timing at this point as I’ll need to be more on point when it comes to putting both yoke and frame together. Put some stuff away before putting the frame back. I didn’t quite put everything away as I still had another event to get ready for. Sandbag to shoulder for the last thing. As mentioned, it appears to be a weekly thing with low volume. At least compared to what I was doing before the hamstring pull/tear. But first, very light sandbag rows. Idea being to do a set of 5 reps to warm up. Similar to how I do some back extensions to warm up for the hyper holds (as well as get things to not be so tight after heavy pulls). I’ve done rows with sandbag before and various styles. I know that it ends up being used as a warm up for stuff like sandbag as well as for stones. If I know this is for warming up for something vs on its own, I’ll do them differently. I don’t pick up sandbags in a row way by itself. It is a rowing and standing up all at once. So I felt that doing that made more sense if I was to be getting the feeling of how the sandbag pick would be and would hopefully have me feeling better about the motion in general with the lingering worries about the hamstring. I should add that I had modified the rehab stuff as I’ve been doing every Thursday going into the following week. Dropping stuff and modifying other stuff to try and cut down on fluff but keep working what needs work. One change did put a bit more stress on the hamstrings (switching from double leg isos to single leg isos) so that was possibly weighing on my mind there. The sandbags were also kind of sorted between ones that were going to be used at the contest and those not. The ones not being used were the not so good ones but that didn’t matter. I had taped my wrists for the rows and the working plan here was literally just singles to a top weight and stop there. Suggested was 150, 200 and then 225-250. I had planned on the 250lbs but with that also being the plan for next time and I’m actually not sure where I’m going to be training next weekend, I figured it was smarter to do 225lbs. I had to remind myself that I’ve only done 150lbs since the injury and that was just last week. I took my time with these and making sure I wasn’t rushing. These felt good. The top knot on the 225lbs bag was distracting but I didn’t let that get to me. I know I could do the 250lbs no issues but the one I was able to use was really sandwiched between stuff and I was already going a bit later than I would’ve liked with having to move a bunch of stuff around to get the work done with frame carry. I can do more next week. I ate the I brought to get food and drink down and put stuff away. I did stretch a little bit as I stayed to help someone finish up their last bit of training (with timing and commands) before I packed up and drove home to eat and stretch.

March 3, 2024 - March 9, 2024 - Week 12

 March 4, 2024 – Week 12, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Clean and Overhead (1 clean)
Strict Presses + Push Presses + Jerks
26x5+5+5
51x3+3+2
Push Press + Jerks
80x1+1
110x1+1
140x1+1
170x1+1
190x1+1
210x1+1

Axle Push Presses + Jerks
210x1+1
210x1+1
210x1+1
210x4+1

Band Assisted Pull-ups
sb+lbx5 at pin 16
sbx5 at pin 16
ab+lbx5 at pin 16
abx5 at pin 16
lbx8 at pin 16

12” Log Incline Bench Presses
90x10
120x5
150x3
180x2
210x5
210x5

Stretching
 
Comments: I saw a fair number of people saying how happy they were that February is over. I feel like anyone saying that seems to forget what March is like around here. Cold and rainy Saturday and then 60 degrees Sunday. There is also potentially snow expected near the end of the month. February at least seems to be consistent. In other news, I reached the goal (285lbs or more) bodyweight by my self imposed deadline of first week of March. Being at 284.6lbs for three weeks and then 285.8lbs this week. I’m not sure where I got the “289lbs” number as my heaviest as I looked back when I thought I weight that and it turns out it was 269lbs (and shortly after that I got over 270lbs for the first time). So this is the heaviest I’ve ever been for certain. Usually when I set some kind of goal like this, I seem to fall short. But this time I did the thing. Now whether this was a good thing or not (adding over 30lbs to my bodyweight in about 6 months). I do feel like my frame is carrying it well and I’m moving/existing with little difference (other than some belts and underwear being too snug). It was another unseasonably warm day as it almost got up to 70 degrees. But it was not humid so it didn’t feel like bad weather. Going to be like 20 degrees and rainy tomorrow. I was slightly stressed with the planned training but it was stuff I was going to have to come to terms with at some point. My right biceps was feeling a little tight from Saturday (I think the heavy frame work) and I wasn’t too sure how pick things up from the “standard” height for a barbell weight would feel. Warming up stuff felt fine. I noticed that I hadn’t really felt a lower back pump on Saturday warming up compared to the previous two days in the week after how things were and I figured likely because I got stuff in the back to shift doing some decompression. Noticed it a little bit but only on the dynamic leg swinging stuff for my lower back mobility and hips. Everything else seemed to be fine and good. I still get slight anxiety with some things because of slight tension and whatnot (because there was no warning I feel for when the hamstring went). Axle to start off the training after all the warming up. Determination for training was to attempt stuff from the floor again. Plan was to work up to a certain weight before switching to out of the rack but hopefully be able to work up to the top weight and then do the rest of the sets out of the rack as planned. Axle is going to be set lower for the pick and require a bit more power right from the start compared to log which will sit a little higher and can afford to be slower (but is also further away from center of gravity). I did apply chalk because there was a possibility with the increased temperature, my tendency to be a space heater (temperature in my house went up 1 degree between sets while I was pacing lol) that I might end up sweating a good bit. That didn’t really seem to be an issue thankfully. But I really wasn’t sure with how axle cleans would be. My hands were feeling a bit worked (frame carry and hold) and I was not sure with the right biceps (though that was going to be my pronated side) on top of the uncertainty of my hamstring when applying force. It thankfully did not end up being an issue in any way. Just a bit of time prepping before I lifted each time. But I’ve kind of been that way with axle in the first place because of how important the start. Suffice it to say that I do miss the pleasant “thunk” of the stall mat landing compared to the more scattered sounding drop on concrete. Initially plan was to just work up 170lbs for the clean and overhead stuff and then go to the rack from there but things were feeling good and rather find out. This is feeling crisper even if say my lower body isn’t feeling as fresh. Like not expecting the weights to be moving as quick as they by feel upon reviewing video. I am taking my time between switching of push pressing into jerking. Trying to transfer over stuff from front squats with my breathing and bracing in the rack position and not rushing. I have rushed in the past with going right from the rack out of worry (and maybe using slight stretch reflex). Cleans are feeling good but again, I’m about 90lbs off where I’ll need to be game day. But hey, into 70% of contest weight finally. Out of the after that top double with 210lbs. Compared to last time with feeling weight on my ribcage, no issue this time, just lower legs feeling a bit worn. Trying to unrack with purpose and use the steps back to ground myself and get a powerful stance. Felt good and like it was getting better each time. On the last set where I could do more reps, I knew that I needed to calm down and not rush things. Make these very solid reps and treat them like singles I don’t rerack on. The first rep was great and then I relaxed too much for the second and it went forward and I had to take a step forward to catch it. Then did two more reps real easy. I took a moment before going for the jerk. I’m noticing that the jerks tend to be very much effected by fatigue. It seemed fine enough though my right knee definitely felt sore after that rep. Nothing some rest won’t help. Ate a bowl of oatmeal before moving on to band assisted pull-ups. I kept the knee sleeves just because again. These are still to be done as working up in 5 reps to the top set of 5-15 reps. But I was advised that I should be pulling up higher and lower with better control. I felt in order to that, I’d need to adjust the band tension and where I was placing it rather than working with one band and lowering the pin height for the increase in resistance. The first two pin heights I was using I knew were a bit too high for my purposes (and a pain to get into without a step) so I went slightly lower and just swapped out different band tensions. I was a little worried with these because I’ve had biceps strains before on this exercise in the last training cycle when working the no tacky stone stuff hard and I was on edge with it from just how it was feeling from after Saturday session. Thankfully again, no issues. Now it might be that some sets felt harder/easier because of “motivation” but it is likely that the method of stacking the bands with more than one is not working out the math how I thought it would so I may need to adjust the band stuff for next time. But that top set was definitely the lightest of the resistances and seemed to work out just fine. Aim to pull myself up higher and control the eccentric better. I think I accomplished that. Last thing was log incline benching. Same as last time with 2x5 continuing. 10lbs increase from last time. Last time, it had felt a little daunting with how it was feeling at that point. And it ended up being really good. So only slightly apprehensive that last time was a “fluke” and that I was back to feeling like myself on this movement. And I was. I’d say it felt the same or easier than last time. The changes in the training made for upper body stuff seems to have worked and got me feeling like how I usually do and for several weeks now. I knew there was an issue and it could have a solution. Just have to keep an eye on things and monitor and report. Triceps feeling a little sore. Put stuff away before stretching and then eating dinner.

March 6, 2024 – Week 12, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

16” Wide Grip Jack Pulls w/ Hip Circle (straps)
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x2
365x2
405x1
455x1
495x1
527x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds
bwx60 seconds

Planks
bw+53x60 seconds

Side Planks
bwx60/60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: Right knee still a bit achy/stiff from Monday but no hampering of my normal activities. I was tempted to ice it but seeing how things go. I don’t expect this session to bother anything. It kind of dawned on me that this potential competition is now getting kind of close. It’s not something far off. 12 weeks to go. Assuming no further injury related setbacks, I should be on track with my current progress. But even if I come into this in good/great shape, I don’t think I’ll be able to get a Nats qualification if the people that show up are also in good/great shape. I’m starting to look at Plan B’s in the event I don’t do enough to qualify outright here. Ideally qualify and be able to take a little break before training for Nationals. Not sure about sandbag to shoulder and still waiting on the new deadlift suit. But really, not sure if I’m 100% comfortable with doing a max from the floor (especially with a suit) so I guess I’m ok for now. I feel that all be cutting it close with the overhead stuff and moving medley and sandbag will be just fine. It had rained a little bit yesterday and today so it was a little cooler compared to the earlier in the week. Warming up. There is still some hesitancy with some movements but it could just be mental thing and me just being hyper focused on anything that “feels off” while I’m doing it. Stuff seemed to be ok. Back to wide pulls. Still elevated. Plan was to again work up to a top set of 5 reps but have it be 2-3” lower than last time. Last time had been 18” with my jack stands so I figured going to the second highest notch of 16” would fit the bill here. I wasn’t sure with how things would go. I had a feeling that I left weight in the tank last time not just because of unfamiliarity with the movement but also because hamstring was still recovering so strength endurance was impeded. I felt I had called things about 50lbs too early for my actual strength but right on the money as far as what my hamstrings would’ve handled. I’ve been asking more of the hamstrings each session. My thinking was that with recovery and familiarization that hopefully I could do the same weights as last time at this lower height. The suggested was to do 455lbs top set as opposed to 500lbs like last time. Figured I’d play it by ear/feel. I was also thinking about the one women’s competitor that uses a wide stance on deadlifts that tore the hamstring at the Arnold but tried to push that image out of my head. I know to have my pull be controlled in this style and not rushing it or trying to pull explosively off the ground. At the start, I wasn’t too keen on things but it was feeling pretty good as I went. I didn’t want to have my back spasm on me like it did at the end of the last session of these. I had done doubles last time but decided to swap to singles as that seemed to be the suggested this time. That first single with 405lbs felt the best that this style of pull with this weight has ever felt so I knew that I was going to be doing 500lbs and likely more for the top set. I was also entertaining 545lbs for the top set. I was feeling some fatigue in the right hamstring after the single I did with 495lbs and figured it was best to not go up another 50lbs. I’m not too sure why I did 527lbs but I guess I didn’t want to do 525lbs. This felt comfortable. It felt better than last time with less weight and higher start height. I definitely had 545lbs there today. Moving down in height might be the best way to go about this with keeping up strength and building confidence. At least with this exercise. I felt strong here. Got a little rest putting the weights away before finishing up the session with the core work. Hyper bench stuff back but no weights again. No changes to what I did last time per notes. Set of 10 reps to warm up and loosen up the back and then a 60 seconds hold. Not sure if it is because I’ve been doing the hamstring work rehab stuff or that the big jump in weight on the wide pulls with hip circle were a factor but my hamstrings were getting cooked here this time around. Like maybe they are firing right and getting more engagement and able to support my increasing bodyweight. I think for them to recover that I’m going to need to be getting this sensation in them with a sense of fatigue. Planks after that. I may have rushed moving from one thing to the other so that I could eat a bowl of oatmeal and then have a enough time to relax and decompress and digest before making dinner. As I mentioned, keeping it at 53lbs in the backpack. I didn’t quite get the left shoulder strap fixed right so it was feeling a little wonky. But I was also taking not as much rest to get things done. I think I’m getting better at being able to breath with a lot of pressure. Side planks were fine. Still noticing the leg work requirement in holding the position but less so this time so hopefully meaning recovery is continuing. With those done, I ate some oatmeal and then put stuff away before stretching and then cooking up dinner.

March 9, 2024 – Week 12, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Yoke (casual pace, turf)
180x50’
300x50’
350x50’
400x50’
450x50’
500x50’
550x50’
600x50’
650x50’
700x50’

Sandbag to Shoulders
100x1/1
125x1/1
150x5 R
150x5 L
150x5 R
150x5 L

Stretching
 
Comments: Work ended up being a bit more of how I was expecting it to be with planning to take a day off work. I fought against my normal instincts of working through lunch to make sure that I was getting in walking middle of the day rather than after work. As one was to just have time after work to do stuff and rehab exercises and try and get used to the hour shift coming up Sunday. Right knee still achy but manageable. Not feeling as sore I guess compared to last time I did elevated wide pulls going into this session. Potentially some compression symptoms lingering. Family was celebrating birthdays this weekend so I did want to try and get out to train earlier so I could be back at a reasonable time. Set my alarm an hour early (which will be regular time tomorrow ugh) and that was just plain unpleasant getting up so went back to bed for 30 minutes before getting up. I had stuff ready to go pretty much from the night before so I did get on the road much sooner than I usually would. Drive out took a little bit due to rain. I actually got out there to train when the earlier group was finishing up and the next group had not yet started. Warming up stuff felt fine. I was expecting more discomfort on some things but thankfully not the case. As far as the actual session, I did take time between some stuff to assist with people training. Most everyone there in the second group is training for the local comp at the gym in two weeks so this is likely the last heavy session for things. And it was probably a good idea for me to take some longer breaks with things since it was just yoke and sandbag session. Yoke was still being done at casual pace and for 50’. I was initially doing it on the concrete but then the people using the yoke on the turf from the first group were done so I went back to that. 50lbs jumps here was going to add up to a lot of work pretty quick and just putting 50lbs on wasn’t taking a lot of time either. My right knee was a little achy and I think I might have had the pick height one notch lower than I might end up using. But I think that as I got used to this and kind of made my whole body brace on the picks that I got better with it. It was more that pick that the knee was feeling crabby about. I was trying to do these not just casual as far as pace but also in attitude until I got closer to the goal for the day. The plan was pretty much like last time I did these with top weight and then when I felt I was done to do holds from there. But I figured I was probably going to pull what I did last week with every set being a run and a hold at the end of the last one. I had done 550lbs last time so 700lbs was going to be a big jump but I figured I better have that in me. The first session on the frame stuff was 470lbs and I did 620lbs second time. So this should work out just fine. My body was definitely aligned better in that it was feeling like a muscular effort with my lower back to stay braced. Also didn’t feel like my right calf was a tight as last time. The weight I did on these last time where I stopped was really comfortable so I just kept going with again the plan to stop at 700lbs as contest weight. It did start to feel like something above 600lbs. It is strange getting hyped up to go slow essentially. 700lbs felt ok. I got to the end and the plan was to hold it for 15 seconds but it felt too easy when I locked my legs so I unlocked them slightly to make it challenging and I guess doing that had it swing forward a little and get me off balance. So rather than fighting it, I just set it down at about 5 seconds. I don’t feel the long holds are as beneficial for yoke compared to the frame. So able to do contest weight on the yoke as slow as possible so good on that. I took a bit of time to kind of rest/prep for what came next; sandbag to shoulder. The thing I strained the hamstring on about a month ago. Plan was to do some light weight for reps. Now I read this as 2x5 as that was what I did last week with a light sandbag but apparently I misread and this was to be 5 reps each side. I could do them as EMOM or all together. I figured I’d rather do them all together as less time and get and idea how things feel doing lifts in quick succession. I was advised to stick between 100-150lbs. Which meant I was going to do 150lbs. I had done the 150lbs sandbag no issues (I think) last week so I knew I could pick this bag up with no issues. But still some mental hesitation to overcome. Did a single each side with 100lbs and then 125lbs. No chalk or belts here. I did apply some athletic tape around my wrists to help support a little. 150lbs is still a pretty darn small and easy bag to move. Difficult to move it how I’d treat a heavy bag. But I did my best. Got 5 reps to the right and took a brief walk to come back for 5 more on the left. This should’ve been where I stopped but like I said, I thought it was 2x5 so I took a little more rest and repeated. And everything seemed to hold up. Left wrist, right biceps and right hamstring. But will keep monitoring. I was planning on heading out when I was done here but I stayed to do some stretching after eating and drinking what I brought and do commands and cues for someone there. Drove home and had to take a slight detour due to an accident near the exit near my home. So I was bit behind my schedule and had to pack in the calories before going over for dinner and stretching out.

February 25. 2024 - March 2, 2024 - Week 11

 February 26, 2024 – Week 11, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

12” Log Push Presses
90x5
120x3
150x2
175x2
200x2
200x2
200x2
200x2
200x5

Chest Supported Barbell Rows
135x5
185x5
225x5
Added Straps
265x5
308x5

Bench Presses
45x15
95x8
135x5
185x2
225x2
250x5
250x5

Stretching
 
Comments: Seemed to be fine after the Saturday session. Same body weight as the past two weeks at just under 285lbs. I was hoping it would increase slightly with diet back on track. I may not be able to eek out the last .5lbs before March weigh-in time. I’ll need to see if worth staying this heavy and trying to push/grow from here. I will say that I’m definitely feeling more comfortable at this weight in general. But not feeling like anything I did on Saturday irritated anything in the injured leg. But I can tell I did some work. And slightly annoyed that this coming Tuesday was going to be the day in office for the month, so a disruption to my schedule. And the left side of my neck was a little stiff (but not like pained or anything). Warming up routine I think I got it memorized at this point. I guess fine. I’m mostly seeing how the dynamic movements for the hamstrings with a stretch are feeling to probe recovery. My walking gait is unencumbered at this point. The elevated wide pulls and the yoke work last week apparently were harder on my body than I thought as I got quite a lower back pump doing the warming up for the lower body. I did want to try to move through things smoothly while also making sure I was getting fluids in. And have it be early enough to get in a bowl of oatmeal before dinner. Log to start things off. Push pressing working out of the rack this week again to a working weight for 4x2 and then final set of up to 5 reps. I hadn’t exactly felt 100% pleased with how log had gone last time and had been a big reason for me moving the stall mat off the patio so I didn’t feel limited. I didn’t want to end up pressing out in front like I was doing last time. While axle was real good for the most part (besides the last push press really), I was still thinking on that one press and how things had felt last time. I wanted to not have that and try and think on what I actually want the weight to be doing here. We weren’t off to a great start. My lower back was feeling pretty stiff so it was probably a good thing no cleans this week. My knees were feeling terribly achy at the start and had to kind of take my time with the reps. Thinking about how I want my lower body drive to be here and try to visualize so that I do put all that power into it. I think I was a little better with treating the unrack of the weight better in a way that it would be like if I did clean it and be in position to press. But still feel like the first rep goes a little forward and I can adjust and correct for the subsequent reps. Hard to gauge between axle and log with same weight as axle had felt heavy initially and was really crisp and I feel similar with log. But a little tougher. I was feeling like I was getting my stance and drive better as the sets went (reason I like low rep and lots of sets for myself). When it came time for the last set, I seemed to not have the first rep be as crisp as I wanted and I got a little worried but managed to launch up the reps comfortably so that was a good note to end on. The weight never felt “heavy” on my shoulders and I can tell they are recovering better as I was never feeling like I had trouble with them staying stable. I put away the weights mostly before going inside the garage to do the rest of the workout. Chest supported rows again. Same 5 sets of 5 reps to a top set for the day. I had surprised myself with going up 25lbs more than I had expected to so I knew I’d likely be good for just a little bump this time around. Especially after doing all those partial sandbag rows. I set things up so that I was doing the 40-50lbs jumps up to 225lbs and then from there decide if I wanted to continue or make smaller jumps. I had already decided really to just aim for 305-315lbs and that likely not doing 275lbs would be the best bet to be feeling good enough for that kind of weight. So 40lbs jumps. I was set for 305lbs but I guess I wanted to do 140kgs because of reason so I added 3lbs to it. This was definitely the limit as far as the more “bodybuilder” style or row and likely stick to around this weight if continuing to push. But maybe I’ll be back to normal training and I might feel fresher for rows. Or not. But I am getting close to 3 plates on a stricter variation of the chest supported stuff. And I know how much I can get out of these and when I go to “heave” styles. Bench last thing for the session. These are still indicated as “speed” work but I guess not really as we add weight. Like the incline log last week, the working weight for the 2x5 was increased 20lbs. It had been fine with the incline log stuff but I know that log overhead ends up being more emphasis on the upper body stuff compared to axle (especially with jerks). I did notice that feeling better with pressing and that shoulders are feeling stable and not “tucking” inadvertently mid-press. So even with that alone, I can tell recovery is improved from the sessions. I was trying to pace things a little as the weight changes were pretty quick at this point (I had stuff to put away or set up between sets for the other exercises). Weights over 135lbs for some reason just feel heavier than expected for me. Like adding that 50lbs for 185lbs feels like “a lot” but I know it isn’t. There does just seem to be that one weight jump on exercises where it goes from feeling “easy warming up” weight to “you need to pay attention to me” weight. I also know that the feeling can be a lie; feeling heavy or light. What matters is action when called upon. So got things set for those working sets. That first set wasn’t my best work but it was done reasonably enough. Second set overall felt much better where most of the reps felt in the groove. Triceps feeling pretty sore after this session and back still feeling last week’s sessions. Ate a bowl of oatmeal and stretched before cooking up dinner.

February 28, 2024 – Week 11, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats
45x10
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x2
265x2
305x2
335x2

21” Jack Pulls w/ Hip Circle (straps)
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x2
495x2
545x2
600x5

Hyper Extensions
bwx10

Hyper Extension Holds
bwx60 seconds

Crunches
bw+20x30

Lying Leg Raises
bwx30

Stretching
 
Comments: Another dumb day of having to go into the office for meetings. Never been to a meeting that couldn’t have just been an e-mail. So maybe a little annoyed with that. But as far as myself, lower back was still feeling a little stiff. I didn’t get a chance to do a walk Tuesday since in office (only did rehab stuff and soft tissue work). Things had been busy and I had finally gotten around to send something about how I’m feeling as far as my hamstring injury to Mr. Westerling to see what the plan was as far as integrating back to full ROM and other changes. Things do seem to be improving but I don’t want to just go right back with those little twinges of concern in my mind. So some of that has been adjusted for this week and next week but could potentially be adjusted further depending on how this week goes. As for the lower back, I had a feeling that I probably needed to do some decompression but waiting to see if needed or not. I’m eating a bit more food then I used to when I’d regularly do it so not often I don’t have something in my stomach so holding off until later in the evening. Mobility stuff continues. I’m not sure if this is how my hamstrings are or if there is still some discomfort sensations with some movements. I can tolerate it and it is very minimal but I do want to be careful. The hamstring thing didn’t appear to have any warning when it happened anyways. Got a bit of lower back pump but not as much as it was Monday. Front squats starting things off with the plan being to work up to a top set of 2 reps. So the plan was to do 10lbs more than last time on these. I know I had said about using the sturdier rack for these but the weather today made it so that I was an indoor lifter. If it was just light rain, I think no problem but with it being thunderstorms and high winds (parts of my toss tower got knocked down), any safety was getting cancelled out. Things were feeling fine enough. I had been a little worried the lower back stiffness would be an issue but it wasn’t. I felt a little better as far as mobility wise compared to last time. There was also probably some more hesitancy with the hamstring issue being fresh and worrying my leg would go at any time potentially. As I got up in weight, I did modify things a little. The written suggestions was to go 275lbs and then 315lbs and 335lbs for doubles after 225lbs. I felt that was spacing things a bit at the end and I recall how last time the jump from 225lbs to 275lbs had felt a bit rough and then going to the top weight. So I did 265lbs, 305lbs and then 335lbs. I got a bit more excited for the top double vs the penultimate one. So they felt about the same. Which may be a good thing in doing some weights without hyping up and the like. Make them routine. But it does throw me off sometimes when I expect a tough double and then I probably had 2-3 reps there because of how much anxiety I get about messing it up and not getting the lifts. But if I can save it for just a few times a session and not all the time, I think it is manageable. I mean, it is how I’ve done it for all these years. Anything over 315lbs so far on front squats has been the heaviest I’ve gone since 2016. So pushing closer to my actual PRs here. 30lbs off my lifetime best double. It is good to be getting these front squats. The more I get used to 300lbs and over on these, the better I think confidence wise with my overhead as well. So why I feel that building this up like with bench is important. So good like work with the front squats. Then some pulling. So initially the modification was to do rack work from just above the knee for a top set of 5 reps but changed to just below the knee after how last week had gone and my status report on progress. These “rack pulls” with the hip circle were to be done in a specific way. I was to not treat them as if I was trying to lift to the best advantaged lift but to lift it as if I was lifting through this movement. I had recalled Bill Kazmaier mentioned this as “round back” rack work to mimic where he’d actually be at that point in the lift when pulling from the floor. But this was similar but not quite. So hips back and not “quad pressing” to initiate the lift. This was to replace the rdls so this to that like the elevated wide grip pulls were for last week. Now because the rack was in the middle of storm and I don’t really want to bang up my bars, I needed to improvise a little. My jack stands max out at 18”. So I ended up using the crash pads and the jack stands to get it at about 21” which is right below my knee (very pronounced tibial tubercle). And I say about because there was some compression of the pads as I added several hundreds of pounds. Unlike the elevated wide pulls, I was instructed to take bigger jumps working up. Suggested was 545lbs but I had a feeling I’d exceed that but it really depended on how I was feeling. As mentioned, I wasn’t to be pulling from an advantaged position so it was a lot of strain to initiate the lift applied to the lower back and hamstrings. The subsequent reps were a lot easier than that first rep (also why I stuck to doubles working up). But I was prepared for 545lbs to be where I called it. After 495lbs, I took a break to see if my lower back would chill if I did some dip station compression. It seemed to do it a little bit immediately but over the course of the night it definitely did something to help. Because of how things were feeling initially, I had gone with 545lbs rather than another plate jump to 585lbs. With how good 545lbs had felt, I felt I needed to go heavier and I didn’t really want to do a 40lbs jump and then possibly have to go heavier and “miss” because of that initial rep. So I settled on 600lbs. Do 600lbs on this and did 500lbs on the other variation. 600lbs for reps had been the next step on the rdls after doing 585lbs for reps anyways. I got set and that first rep went up and I could feel the weight pulling down on me and making it hard to breath efficiently. But the movement after that felt automatic and I had to slow it down a little so that I wasn’t making it too easy. I know I can go heavier but this was probably the right call for this time. The first rep felt about right but the other reps felt pretty darn comfortable. I didn’t put away the weights as I was trying to get through the rest of the training so I could get in a bowl of oatmeal before eating a later dinner. Hyper bench stuff back but no weights. I had mentioned that I was planning on doing 90 seconds as the limit here and was advised to stop at 60 seconds. So this wasn’t really going to be a max effort anymore. Warming up with hyper extensions and then the hold. I had almost been tempted to just go right from one to the other but thought better on it. Hamstrings were definitely feeling these elevated stiff legged pulls. 60 seconds came and went. So abdominal work to follow. Tried to move on to that relatively quick. Set of crunches with some weight. I think because of the “ease” of the hyper bench stuff that I wanted to push these more so I added 10lbs. I was slightly concerned only in that these might may my abdominals sore when it would come time to do sandbag toss this weekend. But got the reps done. Leg raises felt better I think this time around. Didn’t feel like forever. One of the better ones as far as how the lower back “traction” situation felt. Got that done and ate some oatmeal and then put everything away before stretching and then making dinner.

March 2, 2024 – Week 11, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Sandbag Tosses (16’)
30x1
30x1
30x1
EMOM
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1
42x1

Frame Carries (casual pace)
(18” pick)
180x50’
280x50’
380x50’
480x50’
(20” pick, turf)
568x6’
568x50’
620x50’ and 19 seconds hold
568x6’

Sandbag Rows
150x5
150x5

Stretching
 
Comments: Managed to have the weather and my workload not be such that I could get in walks both Thursday and Friday. I was worried I’d need to work through lunch breaks to not have things go overdue. For this year, I’ve elected to use personal days for both when DLS starts and ends so that I can let myself get a little more time to adjust to the change. So for this month, I have one less work day then I’d normally have for scheduling stuff. I’ve dropped some of the rehab exercises as the workouts get back to normal stuff and with greater intensity. I don’t want to take away from recovery. Likely drop a few more next week assuming things continue to progress well. As for this planned session for Saturday, I was going back and forth in my head on whether this was a stay at home session or a go out to train at the gym session. Before the midweek adjustment in training based on my feedback, this was going to be the same as last time with bag toss and then frame walk (casual pace) and end on frame holds. Just adding a little more to what I did last time. The modification change was that I could potentially do all the sets of frame as walks at casual pace if I felt good rather than stop and do holds. As well as some light sandbag work tacked on at the end to see if I can handle that as far as hamstring stress picking things up off the ground. I could do the workout at home and it would probably be less issues putting stuff away. But there was also the weather aspect. It was to rain most of the day. At my house, there were to be some gaps in it whereas the gym there wasn’t really going to be any. In either case, bag toss would be in not ideal conditions. I think the deciding factor here was that I could do frame work inside at the gym and that footing for the bag toss would be more secure at the gym (and bag wouldn’t be landing in wet grass). Also the thunderstorm with high winds Wednesday knocked down parts of my toss tower and I wasn’t keen of using a ladder in the rain to set it back up. There was a good bit of people there when I showed up but I think most were near the middle or end of their sessions. I did end up getting myself talking about tips and training stuff so I ended up taking longer than I planned to with being at the gym as well as warming up. Warming up things felt pretty good as far as joints and muscles. I think I’ve got the new warming up routine down without needing to reference anything. Besides I think wanting to talk to people with same interest was trying to see if the rain let up any before having to go and do bag toss stuff. It wasn’t that I wasn’t confident in myself. Last time with training these I felt like I had got something to click in the form where it was going up even better. And I’ve done bag toss in worse rain conditions (but I wasn’t aiming as high or with short rests). I think it was that I kind of wanted to go heavier on the bag after last time where I was cautious and with the rain, I couldn’t really chance going up that much again. Warming up felt good here. Plan was 42lbs for the 10 singles EMOM style. Technically the bag was 42.2lbs (for some reason, I can’t get my scale to be 42lbs). This was very close to the weight that I did five tosses with at the end of my Nats prep where I was just barely getting over the height. Rain has its own challenges. It isn’t as visually distracting as say snow but it definitely makes things slick quicker and adds weight. The first toss went over well enough. Usually I have some issues with the first toss. Second toss I saw the band target wobble and with the rain visibility, I couldn’t tell if that was from coming back down and clearing it or if my trajectory was off and I had missed. So I kept that as a “maybe” and figured that if I wasn’t seeing a decrease in performance as I went that I’d do an extra just to make sure I had 10 “good” tosses. The water getting into the bag definitely was noticeable as I went and kind of changed the balance a good bit so that required some adjustments during the swing. I had another band hit toss and again, I wasn’t sure if it went or not. So two to add at the end. I had not more questionable ones and actually had some tosses go even better. So added two more tosses at the end. Reviewing the video I found that all my tosses were good tosses so 12 good tosses. Just for my own curiosity, weighed the sandbag at the end of it and it gained weight so that it was 43lbs. So at the very least, some of those tosses were over 42.6lbs so this is a technical PR for this height. Bag toss is looking good and hopefully I can keep going with the 3 months left to train. After drying myself off, it was time for frame carry stuff. I was a little nervous here. The Arnold is happening this weekend and it the one strongman show at the pro level I look forward to and can watch for free (as well as having an amateur world championship). I’d add the Rouge Invitational to that but it was quite a miss last year. But with the high level of competition, injuries will happen. So seeing some people suffer the same injury I got a few weeks ago after taking months to recover or getting injured on an exercise I was about to do adds to thinking. The higher pick I-beam farmers were both broken as the pins keep breaking off. The welds are not great and rusted. The owner thinks it is because people keep pulling on the pins to move the implements. I think it’s just people not handling the implements with respect as I’ve used more weight then what the people training for this upcoming show are doing regularly. If Evan Singleton never broke them when he trained on them when he used to live up here, it is obviously something else. So that meant I’d need to use a different setup. The lower pick handles I could elevate slightly to get to 18”, not exactly the 22” I had last time. But I figured this would be safe as I was able to do 18” pulls with the wide stance and I’d be doing less than what I worked up to on those warming up to the big frame with a higher pick (20”). Things were feeling pretty comfortable. The issue was more putting the weights down to land on the mats with how these farmer’s handles are made. But no issues with the hamstrings here. Then the big frame. Now the initial plan was to work up to 500lbs or so as the casual pace stuff and then do 600lbs or so for the hold. If the plan was to be like last time, I would’ve done that and likely done about 670lbs for the hold considering I did 650lbs last time. But I could do all the weights as carries if I felt good. My hope was that the empty frame would feel good. The sliding doors can now be opened but with it raining, it didn’t make sense to go outside if I could safely do it inside as long as I had rubber mats for the drop points. I really hoped that I could do more than the empty frame for this as I’d be 50’ away from where it needed to be for putting away. I should be good for this height I told myself, I had done 600lbs for 5 reps comfortably earlier this week with bar as opposed to side handle. This went well enough so I knew that I could do my goal of 620lbs. This had been the plan for the next frame session before the hammy pull. It would be a big jump for me as far as casual pace frame/farmer’s walk stuff. I got set and took my time. I was able to keep my breathing quite relaxed after the initial pick. This felt quite good compared to 650lbs two week’s prior. I had already thought to add a hold at the end assuming that the slow pace and time under tension hadn’t already fatigued things (that was what I was most worried about beyond the initial pick). Held for about 20 seconds and set it down. I could’ve kept going. Stripped the weights down and put the empty frame away. Goals hit for the session. Last thing was very light sandbag rows. These were added to essentially get used to the sandbag pick again. Advised to do 2 sets of 5 reps with 100-150lbs. I made sure to find out if that was a hard limit. Took a little rest between these sets and just keeping an eye on where I was feeling things. These were ok. Put stuff away, ate/drank what I brought in the cooler bag before heading home. Which took a bit longer do to an accident a few miles out from the city so had to take a detour through farmlands. I had been calling it close with my gas tank so had to also refuel when I got back home before finally getting home to eat, stretch and catch up on Day 2 of the Arnold.