July 30, 2025 – Week 10, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
136x5
186x3
236x2
286x1
EMOM
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2
336x2

Sandbag Carry and Loads (50’ run out, 57”)
225x50’/225x3 in 32.26 seconds
225x50’/225x3 in 33.44 seconds
225x50’/225x3 in 33.10 seconds

Band Assisted Pull Ups (Pin 18, 3 second eccentrics)/Front Foot Elevated Split Squats (6”)
lbx10/bwx30 seconds (16)/30 seconds (16)
lbx10/bwx30 seconds (17)/30 seconds (18)
lbx10/bwx30 seconds (20)/30 seconds (19)

Supinated Bent Over Rows/Band Lying Leg Curls
135x6
185x4
225x8/2(mmb)+2(mb)x30 seconds (36)
225x8/2(mmb)+2(mb)x30 seconds (36)
225x8/2(mmb)+2(mb)x30 seconds (36)

Stretching

Comments: I did survive the first day. Also coupled with getting an hour less sleep with having to commute into the office where the HVAC not working on a 94 degree day. The portable fans kept me alive. I was not as sore or beat up as I was anticipating from Monday. I didn’t quite have time to do my usual soft tissue recover stuff on Tuesday (it was either that or go to bed) so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel going into the second workout of this week. The proposed plan with the office work was initially 2 days a week plan for blended in office and home but now it sounds like a month in and month out which sounds terrible. Oh well. Still not finalized and likely won’t be until I get back from Ireland. A little slow going with starting training right after work. I think it was just compensating for rushing to get things in a panic done for Day 1 that Day 2 I was bit more chill about it. Also it a bit cooler outside compared to the previous two days. Foam rolling which wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. Neck rehab stuff was fine and mobility stuff was ok as well. Starting the session off was axle deadlifts. Indication was to be working up in weight to something that felt solid but wouldn’t negatively impact fatigue. 10x2 done EMOM style with emphasis on pulling explosively. Recommendation was RPE 5. I may need to ask for clarification on what my coach considers certain things on the RPE scale as can be tough for me sometimes. I was initially looking at 366lbs for my sets but I wasn’t sure if that was too much weight. It can be hard to gauge things from how I feel vs how it looks on camera. So I went with about a weight I did for 10x1 EMOM 6 months ago on barbell as guidance here. I didn’t bother with getting out he big wheels and the platform for these and stuck to just bumper plates. Feeling ok. Just keeping an eye on stuff as Day 1 had been quite brutal. It felt like my working weight was moving ok. I think I was leery about more weight as I wasn’t sure what my speed endurance was going to be like since I’ve not really done these in a few months with EMOM rest. I probably could’ve handled 30lbs more for these after seeing the video and how I was feeling after these. I did get a little silly between sets with singing, dancing and air guitar. Just treating this as a primer. I’m not sure why but this kind of training where things move good feels good to me. I feel like my body is doing something fun. From there, I went outside in the street once again with the sandbag and the yoke. But not to do that medley. This time to do prep for the sandball event. Run 50’ to pick up sandball and run back with it 50’ to load over a bar and then load back and forth over said yoke until time expires. At home, I got sandbags. Sandball is a pain to adjust weight and move. And doesn’t make sense to buy another one when probably got another week of intense training before competing and they are pretty much sold out. So with it being sandbag, I figured I’d load it higher than competition just so that I know I have to extend more with the thicker implement. I was a little nervous here. Not like the zercher and axle stuff from Day 1. It was more am I recovered enough that my biceps are fine with the sandbag and are my knees and hamstrings ok and can I run normally. I did do some slow running to make sure I wasn’t having a truly funky gait. Didn’t bother with sandbag warming up as I was feeling like I got things quite warmed up with the deadlifts. My coach did want me to time these. So run and then load the bag three times and record the number. As I did these, my run down to the bag got more efficient but I think there were issues with say fatigue when it came to picking up the sandbag that add a little to the time. So first the run down to bag. My first run is how I usually have done running to implements from dead start. The second run I got an idea at the start. I noticed this year from a comment and seeing video of myself when doing box jumps that I seem to take a half step with the left side and then jump. So I wondered what if I kept a little tension in my calves and ankles by kind of bounding slightly from side to side. This felt better when I did sprint and I feel that my third run was even better. With the sandbag, I was a little conflicted on how to really go about this. I usually pick up sandbags by trying to get closer to me with long ways style and on my feet so as not to stress my lower back as much. However, can’t really do that with the sandball and that is more lower back regardless. But doing the bag bear hug style wouldn’t be quite right either as way thinner and won’t really allow the wider grip that will be present with the load. So I compromised by picking up the bag long ways with my feet behind so it was out if front more like how the sandball feels. The time for the other sets came down to the efficiency in the reps for the load. I didn’t quite clear the load the first rep on the second set so that took a little bit more time. While the load height is high enough I could’ve ducked under, I went around the outside as I’m not sure if I will be able to do so with it being 5” lower really. I may need to see how that feels with the actual sandball and contest height. Assuming I can get things to feel like this, a decent amount of reps is possible here even with the run down and back to start eating into the time. I was on my second shirt by the time this was done and moved on to a third. So rest of the workout was like Day 1 with being supersets. Just not things I’d usually pair or think to pair together. First was pull ups and FFE split squats. Pull ups ended up being the one thing that had to be modified for me to finish in that I needed band assistance. I can do 3x10 on pull-ups with bodyweight but not with tempo stuff added. Pauses and eccentrics emphasis just sap me and considering the previous session, I knew I needed that. I was told this was ok to modify this way. These were probably the toughest thing of the entire workout for me. Really struggled to get the last rep on sets 2 and 3. The FFE split squats by comparison where like active rest. I wasn’t sure how these would go. Told to move fast and just bodyweight and do 30 seconds of work. A little stability issue and some slight knee aches but things moved well. At least I hope I did these right. I was feeling like myself and not terribly stiff. It was getting later than I would’ve liked it to be at this point so I did start making dinner while putting stuff away from outside and setting up stuff in the garage for the last superset. This time rows with leg curls. The rows being 3x8 and the band lying leg curls being 30 seconds effort. It is probably a good thing I spent several months doing my own thing and figuring out how I could do lying leg curls with bands at home that didn’t dig into my Achilles tendon or be wildly inconsistent. If not, this would’ve been a stressful end to the workout figuring things out. Rowing was a bit different for me. Indication was to do these with underhand grip and keep bar in contact with the thighs. I was told I could use belt and straps here. I did end up with wearing belt here but no straps. I felt it was important to work this position for joint health reasons. With how these rows were, this did end up being more upright compared to typical barbell bent over row. Probably what is called Yate rows. By the last set, I was feeling comfortable with what I was doing and probably could’ve done a bit more. Assuming I did things right. I was a bit surprised I ended up needing more band tension than expected for the lying leg curls. It is a bit of crapshoot with the setup. Be off a little bit and just hit a wall. This workout was a walk in the park compared to Day 1 session but still a good session. I thought I’d be more tired and beat up but I feel oddly refreshed and satisfied. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching. I guess I get two days rest before finishing up this week.