September 1, 2024 - September 7, 2024 - Week 13

 September 2, 2024 – Week 13, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Strict Presses + Push Presses w/ Chains (+28lbs)
26x10+5
46x5+3
76x3+2
106x2+1
136x2+1
166x2+1
196x2+1

Push Presses w/ Chains (+28lbs)
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x2
216x5

Band Assisted Pull-ups
sbx5 at pin 19
abx5 at pin 19
lbx5 at pin 19
lbx8 at pin 15

12” Log Incline Bench Presses w/ Bands (+5lbs/+25lbs)
87x8
117x5
147x3
177x2
202x1
227x5
202x5

Chin Up Holds
bw+20x20 seconds+8 seconds eccentric

Active Shoulder Hangs
bw+45x20 seconds+10 seconds relaxed

Stretching
 
Comments: Conflicted about things but it is what it is. But it doesn’t sound like I’m flying anywhere anytime soon. Maybe later this year. Nothing set in stone at this point but it does seem like the weekend when some kind of service is happening is one that the gym was going to be closed anyways. I actually ended up buying another yoke that is to competition specs so that I could have more freedom/control with things when I have to train at home or not be able to use the strongman gym. Seems fortuitous in this instance. Sleep schedule off this weekend. I stayed up late Saturday and slept in Sunday. Mowed my parent’s lawn rather than walk for my off day exercise. Sometimes the lawn mowing helps with the recovery aspects in the lower body since there is some light resistance with the mower. Had a better time with the electric mower but still feel like the energy source stinks if I got to use two fuel cells to mow a single large lawn. Ended up eating dinner (tried some Asian fusion take out, just okay) with my younger sister as kind of a birthday celebration on top of the one like three weeks ago. Ended up staying up late again because I was going to have trouble falling asleep and I knew I was off work. Managed to not sleep in as late as I did Sunday for Monday. I was a little nervous with training to start as I knew that my knees had taken a beating this previous week. I’d just have to see if things were ok or if I was going to need to wear the knee sleeves. I’d kind of like to push that out a little longer if possible for everything but use for what I feel it will help with. Thankfully most of warming up felt good. I was a bit creaky/achy at the very start but felt better as things progressed. Axle to start things off. Continuing with where the last 4 week block left off. Chains still added and working up in combos of strict and push press. Adjusted a little here in that starting lighter so getting to the 2+1 sets at lighter weight but doing more of them. The axle stuff is a bit more aggressive in progression than the log strict stuff with bands in that 10lbs jumps. But it should be doable still at this point as the “strict” portion is lower reps and just a top set here. Added more support in the form of the soft belts. Plan is to use hard belt next time. Since I was training a little earlier in the day, I had the sunglass lens on as the sun was coming in and out of the clouds. Felt fine with the top set and then adding 20lbs to do push pressing. That also continues to be the same with the doubles and rep set up to 5 reps. I knew from last time that the weight felt heavy coming into the first set so I was expectant of that. I will say that I felt like I was more consistent with the unrack and walking out the weight this time around. Third set I got my left foot caught on the mat stepping back so I had to wait a moment for things to settle. I was not too sure with how the last set would go. I was feeling some fatigue in the shoulders and I was really hoping that I didn’t have the issue like last time where it got off balance and had the last two reps be a bit tougher than I’d have liked. I feel it is important that this keep progressing in this way as I really want to get back to overhead pressing 300lbs or more in competition. Things seemed to have come together for me on the rep set as it felt the best and I didn’t feel like I had any issues. I think I was also more mindful of the chains and didn’t seem as wild. Band assisted pull-ups after that. A little bit of change here. I was advised to keep the top set the same tension as it was the previous time as well as keep the setup the same for the second set. But I was to do 1-3 more reps on that second set compared to before. Which shouldn’t be a problem. My forearms were definitely feeling the sandbag work from Saturday. Felt them on the very first warming up set and thankfully not too bad the next one. I was debating adding liquid chalk for working sets but decided against it and save that for the hangs/holds stuff. Set of 5 reps was fine. The increased assistance set it was easy for those first 5 reps but it was kind of dramatic the fatigue factor after that. I’ve been pulling these explosively and for just 5 reps so not unexpected that this would be present. Then incline log pressing. Same as last time, add 5lbs and attempt the 2x5. If not feeling speedy enough, drop 10% for the second set. Mr. Westerling had commented that my bench press last week that the second set was looking like I should drop down this next time so I was already expecting that I might have to do this for this one depending on how things feel. Initially warming up I was feeling fine and dandy and perhaps I could do the weight for 2x5. But have to remind myself it isn’t so much that I can’t do it but that I can’t do it and make it easy enough so as recovery happens and I continue to make the small progressions each time. The last single I could tell that I may need to do a decrease in weight for the second set to have stuff stay somewhat speedy so I made sure that I had a change of weights on hand. Started out fine but I could tell that I needed to lower for the second set. Took 25lbs off for the second set and that did move better. After putting the elaborate setups away, it was time for the holds/hangs. Both are for just 20 seconds (and then extra time stuff) and if I hit that, I can increase weight next time by 5lbs for each. Only 20 seconds isn’t terribly exhausting so I figured that I’d try and get through these in decent time. Chin up holds was probably going to be the harder one. Liquid chalk for these just to make sure. 20 seconds had felt close last time. I felt like I had a bit more control this time around with my body. Lowering slow to end it does feel good. Then active shoulder hangs to wrap things up. 45lbs here. I wasn’t sure if the setup would have the weights clearing things. I decided I’d keep my bent legs under me rather than behind when I relaxed my shoulders so as to keep my spine stacked and not have it experience traction when I released. I was kind of surprised how comfortable this felt compared to last time. Put stuff away and ate all the meals I eat during the work day hours (besides breakfast) and then after relaxing a bit I did stretch.

September 4, 2024 – Week 13, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Front Squats w/ Chains (+28lbs)
No Chains
45x5
Add Chains
45x5
95x3
135x3
185x2
225x2
265x2
305x2
305x2
305x2

Hyper Extensions
bwx20

Hyper Extension Holds (Neck Harness & Plate)
25+80x22 seconds

Planks
bw+75x60 seconds

Side Planks
bw+10x60/60 seconds

Stretching
 
Comments: Well another year older. Another and I can compete as a masters if I so choose. Still processing things, which has gotten to the body having nervous ticks related to stress. Trying my best to get quality sleep to help with that. I’m not entirely sure what the plan is for things this month (sounds like next week) but due to the timing that I’ll be going out to see family with everyone beginning of November. Upper back kind of spazzed on me in the evening after eating dinner and stretching so that was annoying. Not helping with the eye twitch thing. I was worried that it would make front squats uncomfortable for Wednesday training when it happened as well as impact sleep. I don’t think it did but hard to say as I got absolutely slammed at work Tuesday. Like still have stuff to do for that day at the end of the day today. So that also kind of had me going a little slow off the block to start training after work was done. Also because I forgot to turn on the crockpot earlier in the day than I had planned so dinner might take a little longer to be ready. This was the shorter session for lower body anyways so I could afford to take a little bit of time getting thing going. Warming up was feeling fine mostly. Knees still feeling the collective load of things. Like not really saying the push pressing causing it but certainly not helping with recovery. Honestly, I feel like the step ups and wall sits cause more knee stress than anything else. But weights are getting heavier on everything as well. I was seriously considering going lighter on front squats if things were still feeling not so great as I got warmed up. I mean, I was saying that but it kind of has to be pretty blatant for me to call it early on these because I feel like pushing these is beneficial for me to get my lower body better with quad work and bracing and also getting used to weights on my shoulders for the overhead stuff. As mentioned, front squats with chains for the start of the session. With the new block, plan was 3x2 with 5-10lbs more than what I did last time and the back up plan of lighter for 2x5. Back off weight clarified as 185-225lbs so good to know. I think because this was a new adjustment with the reps that I wanted to get this session done as planned at least. I had felt decent with the working weights last time. My hope was also to do 10lbs since this was a reduction in the reps from triples to doubles. Unracking the weight wasn’t feeling bad today but my right knee was feeling achy and sometimes my stance didn’t feel comfortable to get the best drive out of it. It is hard to gauge the day with lighter weights on squats as sometimes adding belts seems to make the knee aches go away. I was looking at 10lbs increase so I adjusted the numbers a bit as written beyond the usual 40-50lbs jumps as that was setup for 5lbs increase. I think I want to be setting up for 3 plates added the next time as well. That last double was not a confidence booster as I didn’t feel comfortable with the stance I had walking it out and it felt slow and off balanced the first rep. I had to take a moment at the top to get another breath and brace before doing the second rep. I was going to have to take the working weight doubles seriously to get through this. These felt a ton harder than the triples from last time but I will say that they felt better as I did them. So I guess there is that. It was good to be done with that stuff and just worry about core bracing work that wasn’t as heavy/taxing. This would be about my only chance to get a drink break before flexing my stomach hard for time. As per usual, warming up for back extension holds with reps. 20 reps again which seems to be where staying for now with this. These felt good and easy this time. No burning fatigue in the anywhere this time. Which hopefully boded well for the hold. 20 seconds being the max time but leaving some seconds on the clock. Sticking to 25lbs on the neck harness but continuing with adding 5lbs to weight I’m holding. I think at this point this is the most weight combined I’ve done on this bench before with bodyweight. Not as to say a PR for my body holding up but more a PR for this rinky dink hyper bench I got for like $80. This was going to be an easier session for loading since it was back to a weight I could do with the bumper plates and no loose change. I knew what to expect on this with the strain. Felt ok but could tell that lower back did want to stop due to fatigue in holding the position. I accidentally miscounted at some point and it ended up being 22 seconds for the hold. Not going to nix those extra seconds here as I did them. I know I can do more here. The same could be said for the other holds and hangs I’ve been doing (maybe not so strongly the single leg wall sits but told to stop a minute going forward haha). Plank time. I was advised I could still go up or stay where I was. I decided against my better judgement to add 5lbs more to it. This was a chore to get on to my back with the backpack. I think I’m not going to try to go any heavier here because of how much of a struggle getting the back on was. I also don’t think I’ve had the much weight in the backpack for any exercise that I’ve done that is a weighted calisthenic. The added weight was noticeable though with the actual plank itself so not a total waste of effort. Then side planks. Got to add weight to these (yeah). Just 10lbs. But honestly that was enough because adding weight did change the balance point on these a good bit so the additional weight was noticed immediately in increasing the difficult of the brace and braced breathing. So it would seem having some kind of weight on these would be invaluable going forward because of the additional effort to remain stable/rigid. Side planks do seem to have ups and downs as far as quality of the brace and more so than the standard planks. So I’ll have to see how next time goes with the same weight. Put stuff away and stretched before getting dinner ready.

September 7, 2024 – Week 13, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Farmer’s Walk (turf)
115x50’
165x50’
215x50’
265x50’
315x50’ in 12.00 seconds

Sandbag Carries
turns at 25’
250x50’ (load style)
250x50’ (bear hug)
turns at 50’, on turf
300x235’2” (load style) PR+16’9”
300x171’2” (bear hug)

Sled Drags (turf, 50 seconds rest)
180x93’
180x93’
180x93’
180x93’
180x93’
180x93’

Stretching
 
Comments: This week (even though a short work week) kicked my ass. I guess it was a culmination of stresses (work and life) that got topped off with bad allergies on Friday. I was playing catch up all this week with how slammed I got with work on Tuesday that I still have stuff from Tuesday to get resolved next week. And this was with having a break from getting “new work” Thursday per schedule. I ended up taking allergy meds Friday and then Dayquil to help me sleep. I didn’t have to worry about getting out early to train as my one friend trained Friday to have access to conan’s wheel (Nationals) before it was packed up for the contest today offsite. So even people not competing were likely to be there helping out and there were other people competing in Maryland so it was likely going to be a “ghost town” today as far as strongman stuff. I ended up sleeping in to my usual get up for work time (plus snooze button once) and had to pack up and clean up stuff that I usually do the night before but I forwent to get more sleep. Took allergy meds just to make sure this morning. It was to rain off and on today and apparently that meant as soon as I left the house. I also had to fill up the tank for my car as I was too lazy to do that after training last Saturday. Going later like I usually do meant I got to the spots that usually have slowdowns that I’ve been missing going earlier. But other than that, it was uneventful drive out. As expected, very few people there and those that were were not there doing strongman stuff. Last two times I’ve come in someone has adjusted the volume on the speakers for the gym well over the posted max so that has been annoying and I’ve adjusted it both times. Don’t want the sound system speakers to “blow out”. Warming up I was feeling so-so. It was cooler today than usually has been. I was mostly keeping an eye on my knees (mostly the right one) as I had felt aches more present this week compared to the previous two weeks with the heavier moving events. It was actually feeling decent but I also had to keep in mind that some of that might be from the Dayquil I took the night before. First thing for the day was farmer’s walk. I was going to use the strip of turf in the main gym area but people were using it to at times or were near it and I think my irritation and stress were on high alert so I was having a harder time with combating usual aversion to things like being around people so I moved into the wind tunnel. Anyways, the plan was the same as last time with 50’ runs and 50lbs per hand jumps in weight. Now the plan was to not go 100% speed yet but increase speed to comfortable level beyond casual pace as well as go up 5lbs per hand (and then 5lbs more next time to contest weight). Getting the pick for the empty handles I could feel the knees aching so I figured I should do my due diligence and wear my knee sleeves for these. I think with how close this was to contest weight and the jump just a little more (and seeing yoke was to be contest weight the next two sessions) I figured I’d just do 315lbs as the top weight. I wanted to let out some stress/anger. As has felt the case, the picks felt slower than I’d like. I have to remind myself that these handles are longer/lower than what I had been using for all of last year and this year until the start of this particular prep. But moving was feeling fine. After how things went with the change in belt combo for the wagon wheel pulls last week, I decided to see how using my previous belt combo felt compared to what I was using for Regionals and so far this prep. So 265lbs per hand was with a hard belt but keeping the tightness I use for front squats and overhead lifting. It was a good thing I did test these things out as there is certainly more pressure with being able to brace with these belts and allergy meds tend to increase blood pressure. I was anxious with the top weight. I mean, I was going to be even if I was doing the same weight as last time. I was going to try pushing the speed on this (I hadn’t really been doing so warming up that much). I knew the pick would be slow and that with the handles how I pick them that it was going to be a slow start as they dip a good bit. I got set after getting chalked and breathing under control. Pick was slow but that was expected. I was not quite 100% but I was moving close to it. Definitely not used to running full speed laden at this point. Also with tight belt. I was feeling like I was getting a little off balance and grip wanted to slip with how I was moving. But finished ok. Timed this as best I could solo as this is contest weight (but not contest distance). Ended up being 12 seconds on the dot. This is the most weight I’ve done on these particular farmer’s and the most weight I’ve done on turf from this pick height (I did a cycle on turf back in 2019 for the Arnold due to the “longer distance” and having to really elevate the pick due to my back injury). This seemed to be ok but my right knee started aching from this which wasn’t great. I put stuff away and got things setup for sandbag carries. Same as last time. 300lbs for the working sets of 2 max distance carries with different hold styles and try to beat my distances from last time. I was being cowardly here because I was worried that I was not going to be able to beat those distances after essentially going to the limit the past two sessions here. And it looks like I’m to do that again next time as well. I brought the 300lbs bag out to the wind tunnel to be alone again. Did the warming up on concrete. I was initially thinking concrete for both after I couldn’t locate the handtruck as I did not want to be carrying these any further than I had to. I didn’t have the “jelly leg” sensation on the warm up sets but that didn’t calm my nerves. I had brought back up shirts in the event I was too sweaty today as well. I didn’t wear knee sleeves on these as didn’t seem to be an issue and I’d rather not have something constricting on a max distance thing like this. Got the pick and got to work. No “jelly leg” that first leg down so I felt I was home clear here. Goal was 219’. Kept going and got 4 lengths and knew I needed to get about halfway down to make sure I got over that distance. Stopped once I got to the point where my brace couldn’t hold and I was shuffling. I was surprised how far down I got as wasn’t expecting to be over 235’. So that was a nice confidence boost. I wanted to go again for the second set but I knew I needed to rest and recover. I got myself ready and plan to get 216’ here with it in bearhug. But that didn’t happen. Maybe I rushed the pick and didn’t try to get the bag up higher on my body before going off the gate. That dumb “jelly leg” sensation hit me on that first length down (always near the end of the run) and I managed to recover, I could feel the damage was done as this was feeling a lot tougher compared to last time. I didn’t get 4 lengths here for the first time this training block. My glutes and hamstring just had no more left and I knew that it was a war of attrition to try and get down to the end when I was less than halfway there. It was frustrating as my grip felt very secure and was not wavering. The only down side of the session (besides the achy right knee). But bearhug is not my strong carry style and I’ll be more often carrying sandbags load style and I just hit a big PR on that. Put away the bags and had a think on what I was going to do for the sled drag work. Now the plan was the usual 5 sets of 100’ with a minute rest. But it was raining off and on today and by the time I got to this the rain was going between hard and light. I didn’t want to have to deal with possible slips with an already unhappy right knee and trying to figure out how much weight I’d need to deduct to deal with the water and such. Also not my equipment so not wanting to get stuff wet they don’t want to get wet and rust. So inside. I was initially looking at 50’/50’ like with sled pushing on turf but that wasn’t going to work here with the length of the lead tow straps with running to them and then adjusting the setup. The sled dragging has less issues with going onto mats unlike the push so I could use the entire turf. But just about 93’. So I figured I’d guess at what weight would feel ok here and adjust as needed. Like if I picked too light, I’d shorten rest and add a set (I was still salty about the second set of sandbag carries). Can’t move as fast on the turf vs concrete. I probably could’ve gone heavier here so I shortened the rests and decided after the first four sets I’d do six sets instead to I guess make up for missing 35’ total from what is usually done here with 5x100’. Right knee was achy but the quad pump by the end did seem to make things feel a little better. I didn’t need to put much stuff away before driving home. Took a bit to decompress after getting home before stretching. My right knee was acting up off and on. Relaxing, stretching and eating dinner seemed to finally get the eye twitch to stop for a good bit. I ended up icing my right knee before bed for about 20 minutes or so for the first time since last year. I’ll have to keep an eye on things.