July 22, 2025 – Week 9, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Clean and Push Press (one clean)
30x10
60x5
90x3
120x2
150x2
180x1
210x1
240x1
270x0,0
270x0

Comments: This was not the start to the week that I wanted. Flew a little too close to the sun so to speak with coming right back to training hard after being away for a week (not true training for 10 days). Especially coming from dry air to whatever it we have here. Plan had been to do this workout on Monday but I was stressing out about it with coming back to work and just felt like stuff was not going to be a good time with my lats and hamstrings all twitching. So added an extra day. Mowed the lawn Sunday as my steady state cardio stuff. I felt a bit more energized in the late evening so I felt that was a good cue that I made the right decision to rest another day. I got myself ready for this session. Soft tissue work with foam rolling and neck rehab stuff was fine. I did modify some of the warming up stuff as I was feeling kind of ready to go. So on to axle. My hope here was that I could work up to 270lbs for a solid single and then see how things were as far as the last heavy touch and such. I was feeling pretty good working up in weight, taking 30lbs jumps. I was feeling comfortable and explosive. I did start filming early here as I wanted to see what my last work up set would be like to decide if I was sticking to 30lbs jumps. If it wasn’t great, I’d just go up 20lbs for a 4lbs increase from last time. Not ideal. I didn’t use the wagon wheels as I wasn’t too confident in using them and banging them up or making issues for the patio. It also didn’t seem like enough room to have crash pads to land the weight on in front if I wanted to without moving my rack. I had it anchored down for doing rack work after this. At least that had been the plan. I got set for 270lbs and went at it. Couldn’t quite get it to bounce up on one pop so I did need to let it settle before going for the pop to the shoulders. It went up fine and like I wasted no energy at all. Feeling a vindicated with having taken the focus on clean separate here. But then disaster. Went for the press that I thought was there but just hit a wall. Weight went out in front and I couldn’t seem to press any further nor could I get myself back under the weight like I tend to do with my hip drive. Told myself to not freak out and took a breath and went for it again. More midline but did not have the power to press it through and same result. Damn it. I walked away and took about 90 seconds to recompose myself to give it one last try. Clean was about the same (so good that I’m not gassing out on the clean) but again hitting same issue and worse this time. I tried to muster up giving another shot while weight was in the rack but then it just started to feel unfathomably heavy (when it wasn’t before) and just set it down. Took off my support gear in disgust and just stood with my hands above head supported on the power rack for at least 5 minutes. Maybe closer to 10. Contemplating what I was going to do. Just feeling all the fatigue overpower me that I had been keeping in check. Sweat just pouring off my arms. I knew I wasn’t doing anymore axle today. I gave a half-hearted attempt at a pull-up and my biceps and forearms said don’t be stupid and I packed it in. I was feeling like I had a bit of cold and I wasn’t sure if that was stress or allergies at this point. No stretching, just getting stuff done and then eating dinner. I’m not dropping out of this contest like I did with the January show as there was a lot more “issues” at play there. But I’m really not getting whatever it is that I need to do for overhead. I feel like I can somewhat get the other stuff and tinker there as needed as the downsides with those seem a lot less detrimental than the overhead. Overhead and deadlift tend to have a big focus where they events that can be zeroed. My upper body never seemed to relax on vacation. I need to sleep on this but I’m likely looking out for someone to assist me in landing this plane and doing a true offseason after this show.