July 21, 2024 - July 27, 2024 - Week 7

 July 22, 2024 – Week 7, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Strict Presses w/ Chains (+28lbs)
26x5
56x3
86x3
116x2
146x2
176x2
176x2
176x2
176x2
176x5

Band Assisted Pull-ups
sbx5 at pin 17
abx5 at pin 17
lbx5 at pin 17
lbx5 at pin 17

12” Log Incline Bench Presses w/ Bands (+5lbs/+25lbs)
92x8
122x5
152x3
182x2
212x5
212x5

Chin Up Holds
bwx37.37 seconds+13.67 seconds eccentric

Active Shoulder Hangs
bw+20x64 seconds+12 seconds relaxed

Stretching
 
Comments: I was not thrilled about coming back to work. As it had been a crazy week in the world while I was out. Sunday I was feeling nervous about work with the extra stress. I wasn’t able to sleep in as my neighbors apparently needed a tree removed and that started at like 6:30AM (according to my parents). I couldn’t tolerate it by 8:30AM or so. Seems weight is starting to drop now that I’ve removed the dairy products (milk and yogurt) as well as not trying to force two bowls of oatmeal in a day. So down 4lbs from last weigh-in two weeks prior. Work wasn’t completely terrible but it was a lot of work and catching up on things and vestigial things from the global system outages. I’ve been fairly lucky with the weather matching up with not being rainy or such when I have to do stuff outside. Which is generally every session with overhead lifting. It wasn’t storms when I was lifting but it varied between actually raining and just a fine misting during the session. I was a little nervous about how pressing would feel as sometimes my shoulders seem to get “achy” when I take time off. Warming up to start things off. Feeling ok here. Just keeping an eye on things and hoping that the rain would stop or let up before I needed to actually lift. But it never really did. It was raining and it was warm enough that when it wasn’t raining I was sweating a good bit. And this session was all outside stuff. I covered the weights I was using to anchor the power rack with towels to keep them as dry as I could. Axle strict pressing with chains to start things off. So like log, 10lbs more than last time and inverting the volume (2x5 to 5x2) but being allowed to go for 5 reps on the last set if feeling good. But really, that is always the goal. Another week of no support gear (besides I guess on front squats for the knees). Did 30lbs jumps and was able to start on the empty bar with the weight progression here. I was feeling a bit more comfortable with the unracking of the weight and not letting it mess with me with the weight feeling off. Glad that shoulders were feeling fine here. Definitely noticing the triceps. I figured that things would probably be similar ot the log from last time with it initially feeling a little slow/rough and then getting better and feeling really good by the end (but perhaps not as much as the log had). Things did seem to follow that. I do tend to notice that balance seems a bit more an issue compared to log on these. That is likely because bands can provide more of a grounding effect whereas chains do as well but it more “live”. My power seems to be more hip based than quad based on that initial movement for overhead stuff. The rain wasn’t helping with the grip here. I was feeling quite strong the last set but I got a little overzealous and the weight did get out of midline a bit so I had to slow things down for the last two reps. I was worried after that that I had only done a set of four reps. But good start back from vacation for the overhead stuff. Like didn’t miss a beat. So that went fairly well I think. Band assisted pull-ups after that. Advised to repeat what I did last time and just do it so it was better. The wetness wasn’t exactly helping here but I kept the bar section dry as I could. Warming up felt ok and not like it was going to be a struggle on the working sets like it sometimes feels like. Just watching the biceps to make sure ok as don’t need any sudden movements or slips on these. Applied liquid chalk to my hands just to make sure when it was time for the working set stuff. These felt fine and I’d say felt about the same for both sets. Which is good on the fatigue front with an explosive pull. Then incline log pressing. 2x5 with the bands from last time. But do 5lbs more weight on the working sets. I decided to modify the warm up a little so I wasn’t doing as many reps at the start. Even though things seemed to go well for the axle, was hopefully things would be good on the log benching as well. And they did. At least for the feeling ok part. The first set with the working weight I kept banging the log into my chin. I didn’t have that problem on the next set. Since the rest of the workout was me just “hanging around”, I decided I’d start prepping dinner as I needed to go to bed earlier than usual because of course I come back to work the week that I have to go into the office for a day for meetings. The chin up hold was first. It is one of the few things I seem to count fast on with holds and such. Last time I had gotten a little bit over 30 seconds. I was hopeful that I’d continue to improve on this as I like how this is working things in the upper body. Did my best to keep the rain slickness to a minimum. I think on the hold portion I’m getting like 3-4 seconds more time than what actually is the case. So about another 5 seconds gain from last time here and the eccentric time also increasing as well. I was able to control the eccentric even better this time around as well without getting nearly as tense and ab cramp holding this. I do like how this is working things while being relatively safe for the biceps. Last thing the active shoulder hang. I actually took a decent break here to get dinner ready so that I could be ready to eat once I finished training and putting stuff away. This hang I was advised to add weight if I get over a minute. I did that last time as well so I went with another 10lbs. This took a bit more setup and timing with rain and such to get ready. Grip wasn’t an issue on anything today with the rain and the liquid chalk. I was initially thinking that I wasn’t going to get over a minute today but I just got over the feeling of suck that is the first 20-30 seconds and kept going. I just seem to be slow counter as usual as I could’ve kept going but I just wanted to make sure I got a minute. I also apparently was slow with counting the lowering into relaxed position here. Lower back was feeling a little tight from the traction afterwards. It is interesting seeing the shoulder girdle strengthening exercises that have been added. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching out.

July 24, 2024 – Week 7, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats w/ Chains (+28lbs)
No Chains
45x5
Add Chains
45x5
95x3
135x3
185x2
225x2
275x3
275x3
275x3

Hyper Extensions
bwx25

Hyper Extension Holds (Neck Harness & Plate)
20+65x30.43 seconds

Planks
bw+59x60 seconds

Side Planks
bwx60/60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: Work the day before had been in the office day, which was dumb, and then just continuing busy and stressful stuff with the new requirements. I feel pretty worn at the end of the day. I had to kind of just “zone out” for a bit after work today to just recenter. I felt it was ok to do that before training as this workout tends to be the shorter of the lower body sessions in the current training cycle. I had not been able to get in a walk the day before either. It was feeling muggy today so I put on just the little oscillating fan to get the air flow to be better. Warming up was feeling fine. Seemed to be moving fine and all. Could feel the shoulder and upper body work from the previous session. Starting things off with front squats with chains. I was up in the air on the knee sleeves but elected to keep them on for these again. This changed slightly from last time. So instead of 2x5 like it has been the last two sessions, it was now 3x3. I actually prefer lower reps for these, especially when doing them with chains and having to walk in and out the weight. Same warming up here. I was trying to unrack these in a way that wasn’t bothering the knees like it had when achy from the axle work. They weren’t feeling much from Monday and I think getting more under the weight rather than just trying to get up and out quick may be the trick here. I adjusted the placement of the chains so that I wasn’t having them make contact with the “feet” of my standing rack. That might have made the weight feel a little odd with it being out like it was. Plan was 275lbs for the triples. I noticed from last time that I essentially deload all the thick chains at the bottom and leader chain still in play so like 6lbs added at the bottom and about 28lbs at the top. These are tricky with how these feel beltless in the first place coupled with the iso holds and such that I do on Monday for the upper back and shoulders. But even so, this shouldn’t be an issue for me. Always feels so darn heavy on the unrack that first working set and I just have to tell myself that heavy doesn’t mean it won’t move well. Felt ok, just rushed putting it back in the rack. Second set it didn’t feel like crushing weight on the unrack so a bit more comfortable. Third set was feeling even better but a little forward on the second rep so I took a moment to collect my thoughts before finishing up the triple. These are pretty tough and it can be tricky to know when to push and when to pull back. Took some time putting things away to rehydrate as well as get ready for the rest of the session. From there on to the mid-section work with bracing exercises. Warming up for back extension holds with more reps. Increasing again by 5 reps (20-25) the range. I figured I’d keep going for the higher number if I could as that seems to feel good and I start to get some work in the hamstrings at that point. Also as a mobility blood flow thing. But I also remembered that I had felt a bit cooked last time after the front squats with chains that first time. So I took a bit of time with resting here to make sure I wasn’t rushing into doing the hold. So with the hold, I was advised I could push the weight as long as I was getting 30 seconds (while keeping 5 seconds in the tank). I was initially going to do 10lbs more to play it safe but I guess I got a wild hair and decided I’d do 20lbs more so that it was the same weight I had put when last told to go heavier (but with more weight on the neck harness). This was certainly a gamble as I mentioned last time that I seemed to have to fight much harder to get close to a time from the previous session that I hit with less effort. I could tell right away this was a heavy weight for this and what I was doing as far as a hold. This was the closest to that margin of error and I had been worried that I had fallen short of 30 seconds with the counting. But it was right at the line. So obviously no heavier until this gets comfortable for me (likely feeling more like 40 seconds with 5 left). I had started getting dinner ready at this point so that I could hopefully be eating by the time I was done with training. Planks were up next. Surprisingly, I was advised I could add a little more weight to the planks that I was doing. I was initially thinking like 11lbs more (so another chain in the back pack) but figured I’d just use the chains I had from front squats with all the attachments with another chain (I usually do 3 chains in the bag with 20lbs ankle weights) so it was 6lbs more. The added weight was noticed at least with getting the back pack on and off but felt about right when doing the hold. Getting sweaty now. Side planks felt pretty good with just body weight. A good day for those (as I’ve mentioned, sometimes these don’t feel as good). I do wonder if I will get to add weight to these at some point. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching.

July 27, 2024 – Week 7, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Farmer’s Walk (Casual Pace)
75x50’
125x50’
175x50’
225x50’
275x50’
275x50’

Sandbag Carries
turns at 10’
225x20’ (load style)
225x20’ (bear hug style)
turns at 50’
275x255’ (load style)
275x225’ (bear hug style)

Sled Drags
35x100’
135x50’
225x50’
60 seconds rest
255x100’
255x100’
255x100’
255x100’
255x100’

Stretching
 
Comments: Work continues to be stupid and stressful and while I’m kind of getting used to the new added stresses, it is possible I’m just not yet getting used to what will be coming down the pipeline. Got news Friday afternoon that apparently another person is being removed from the unit so now down to I think 5 people total that will get full caseload assignments. There is a serious lack of communication with things as it is obvious this was known to be happening over a week ago. But that would explain the influx of work that happened that seems to be stabilized near the end of the week. But not looking forward to that person’s cases being dispersed amongst those who remain. I ended up having to walk after work Friday due to stuff taking longer than I expected during Friday. I’m noticing that I kind of need a little bit of time to just “vegetate” after the work day to get on with my day. I was yawning a good bit on my Friday walk. I felt compelled to get that walk in since couldn’t do one Tuesday and my legs were feeling quite sore from the front squats with chains. Really is surprising how much they get sore (and noticeably more the right quad). It has me a little thankful with the current overhead work being no leg drive coupled with the very fatiguing sled work. With training for Saturday, there wasn’t really a rush to get out to train but I figured I should stick somewhat to my work time getting up in the event I end up being out there a long time. I’d likely be doing that as there are a fair number of people training for different upcoming events and one person is training for a comp with 8 events that drives further than myself to get access to train them. The drive out was mostly fine other than congestion at the usual spot. It was cooler and less humid this time around so that was nice as I wasn’t sweating to nothing. Warming up felt fine and good mostly. I might have missed of the exercises in warming up as I got distracted with all the people doing stuff and having to move around and such. But didn’t seem to be an issue with getting warmed up enough. I should note that I was taking fairly decent breaks between exercises themselves this date because of needing to share space as well as help people with setup and teardown. I should also note that my assistance with setup and teardown and providing tips was not mandatory but I felt like doing it. First thing for the day was farmer’s walk. To be done at the casual pace and no support gear. Of the exercises I’ve been doing this cycle without support gear, this is the one I’m feeling the need for the most as far a belt. But I did want to finish out this 4 week block this way and go from there. Same as it was last two times with doing 50’ runs up to the working weight with 2x5 at that. 275lbs this time so not as aggressive of jumps as the last two sessions. Grip wasn’t going to be an issue here. It was going to be the pick on the farmer’s that was going to be the hardest thing for me. And just know that it was going to be. The handles were a little off loaded to get it to be 75lbs to start as I didn’t want to be doing small plates and used bumper plates. 50lbs jumps and was feeling pretty good. Like I said, wasn’t sweating to death here. But I still felt it was a good idea to use liquid chalk for the working set to be on the safe side. With that first set of 275lbs (which was going to be a PR for casual pace farmer’s) I thought I was ready for the pick and brace. I was not. I felt myself lose the brace as I strained for a bit and there was more strain than I would’ve liked on lower back. So there was slight hesitation after the pick to get moving with how slow it felt and effort needed. I was slightly worried I was going to pass out but I was able to get things under control and do the walk as planned. For the second set, I took a little longer to rest here and correct what went wrong with the bracing for the pick. That worked and felt so much better and it was a comfortable finish here. I probably didn’t need to take as along as I did after that to do the next thing but I was cautious/dreading it. My left adductor and my right hamstring were feeling a little tight shortly after that and I was not sure if that was something telling me to stop for the day or if I just needed to be a little mindful. I think I get a little worried when I feel tightness or soreness in those spots (as well as biceps) compared to other areas because I’ve had injuries and the hamstring one is still something that is on my mind. The next thing was sandbag carries. Front carries I’m generally good at but oddly enough I’ve not really had them as an event to train for March of last year and that had been for a fairly light husafel carry. It is an event that comes back quick but can be a bit of a suckfest that first session or so back at it. Similar to stones. And as I get older, it is harder to know if the metric I use to gauge being “back” is as accurate with each passing year. The plan here was to do two sets of max distance carry with 250-275lbs sandbag with the first set being carried as if I was going to load the implement (horizontal) and the second set being in a bear hug style (vertical). I don’t have this as an event in this regard (the contest is carry 30’ and load over 48” then carry another 30’) but this is a good away to build up the muscles and breathing that will be taxed in it. A lot of time under tension. I had pretty much decided that I’d be doing the heavier bag option because the size difference between 250lbs and 275lbs would not be comparable going forward. The 275lbs to 325lbs are similar in size and closer to size of the competition bag size. Warming up was suggested to do some rows and picks. I felt that was not going to necessarily be the ideal way here. Perhaps if I was attempting to go fast with it being a timed event that would be a good idea. It was going to be more feeling comfortable with holding and walking and such. I got plenty of warming up pick wise with resetting power stairs (which also let me know my adductor and hamstring were fine). So for the actual warm up, I did 50lbs under the weight and took it for a short stroll in both styles. The pressure of the hold and where the bag sits is unique and just feeling that strain in the middle of the back kind of takes breath away so it was good I did that before the actual sets. As far as effort, I had asked for clarification on if these were until I was dead or if I was to leave something in the tank. I was advised not to leave much in the tank. I wasn’t too sure what I’d do here. I knew that I had to get at least 100’ for my pride despite how long it has been. No chalk or any support gear hear. I knew the picks were going to be a bit rough from the beltless farmer’s stuff. I was very surprised how far I got with the bag that first set. I wasn’t expecting over 200’ with how I was feeling honestly. And when I did get that distance, I wasn’t thinking I had another length. I always try to make it a habit to make the turn anytime I get a full length because it could matter come competition time. I took a long break here to get my air and make sure I was fully recovered before going at it bear hug style. As that was going to be the harder one for me. The pick is more taxing and the bag gets in the way more visually so I can’t really make as fine tune adjustments with moving. My first pick I failed as I wasn’t quite centered and it was a bit more of a grind than I was expecting so I dropped it to regroup. This bag is a bit under filled so the vertical style is a bit tricky with it. I came back and got it and I was off. Again, I wasn’t expecting 200’ or more but I got there. With both runs, I feel I left about 25’ in the tank. I essentially stopped when I got to the point where I was going to have to start shuffling and grinding out the steps rather than be able to keep normal walking gait. But pleasantly surprised that things went as well as they did. I guess the holds with hypers and planks coupled with the sled/prowler work has been keeping things somewhat on point. Again, I took my time after that to get things setup for the sled drag to finish things off. I was assisting with another event and I kind of wanted the fatigue in my legs after the sandbags to subside. I already had sore quads, didn’t need my hamstrings and glutes to be pumped up as well when it came to the sled drags. Same as it has been with warming up to 5 sets of 100’ with 60 seconds rest. The sled drags at least feel a bit more consistent compared to the prowlers stuff having to be on turf and broken into 2 implements with 50’/50’. Perhaps the straight shot in the sun just feels less taxing or perhaps going up 10lbs on something over 200lbs feels less arduous compared to something over 150lbs. Warming up felt fine here. Of the two exercises setup like this, I much prefer this. As per usual, the last set I hit that slowdown wall where I finish but it is a good bit slower than the previous sets. It ended up being a long day. Cooled down before putting stuff away and then eating the meal I brought and then driving home. I had to settle for bit at home too before eating once more and then stretching out.