October 29, 2025 – Week 9, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
111x5
161x5
201x3
251x3
291x2
341x2
381x1
431x4
431x4
431x4
431x4
431x4
431x4

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (21”)
65x6
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
275x6
275x6
275x6
275x6
275x6

Paused Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps, 2 seconds)/Chest Supported I Flys and T Flys/Lying Band Leg Curls (first 12 with 3 seconds pauses)
255x3
345x6/10’sx8+8/(2)mmbx12+12
345x6/10’sx8+8/(2)mmbx12+12
345x6/10’sx8+8/(2)mmbx12+12

Sandbag Carries
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’

Stretching

Comments: So I guess good news as far as compared to last week, I wasn’t feeling worn down with cold/allergies and didn’t need to be taking any meds to not feel tired. But with how this week was playing out, it was not looking like I’d get in any walks on my off days. Walking after work getting risky with limited time. It is forecasted to rain hard Thursday and because of that, Trick or Treat is being moved to Friday evening. So may just need to take my losses and get some things resolved and then get back to doing my walking on non-training days during lunch breaks when back to teleworking next month. This was going to be a tough session for training and last one for a few weeks where I have time crunch. Foam rolling I didn’t need a ton on lower legs and decent amount on the quads. I was planning on that with the Spanish squats from Monday but it wasn’t as bad. I was a little worried possible soreness may pop up later in session. Rehab stuff for neck continues to be helpful. Notes were to do the calf and tib raises but I did adjust this. Previously I was doing leaning calf raises followed by wall supported tib raises. This time, I did alternating movement so it was more of a dynamic movement going from standing tib raise to standing calf raise. In between sets I did some glute activation work. From there I did my normal stretching and a dead hang before moving on to training. Axle deadlifts again. These had felt pretty darn good two weeks ago and I was looking forward almost to doing them last week before I started to feel like crap. Thankfully those were lower reps (5x2 vs 5x5). But I kind of knew that this next time would be back to higher volume stuff and it was with 6x4 at 5lbs more than the 5x5 had been. Really trying to get my hips just a smidge lower on these but I’m not sure if I am or if that is really benefitting me. I did have a bit of odd plate combination to get to the weight I wanted it to be for the working sets with 40-50lbs jumps. First rep of first set I was little out of position so the weight hesitated for a moment before coming up off the ground. These felt heavy but seemed to be moving well enough. I could tell these were getting tiring compared to the doubles last week. Second set my first rep rocketed up but I think I was second guessing if I did 4 or 5 reps with how they started to feel. Or maybe that was the fifth set that feeling set in? Third set I accidentally touch and go repped the second one. I was starting to feel like my forearms and hands weren’t really in this today and I did apply some liquid chalk to my hands so that I didn’t have things get loose on me and I miss a rep. Pulled out air guitar to try and get myself a little more pep right before my last set. Didn’t have the effect I had wanted it too haha. But got these done. Put stuff away and rehydrated while setting up for the front box squats with the ssb. Doing these to the lower box height has been quite brutal. The first week had been really rough whereas last week was tough but a lot more doable. I was hoping this week would be closer to last week vs the first week. Same weight but more sets with 275x5x6. My right knee was feeling pretty achy and I was not invoking confidence with how warming up was feeling. Usually my last warm up set is the one that tells me I’m good. This time it did not. I was really worried that I’d not get the first set done here. I did eventually get through the first set and just kept going and hoping that my knees held up to what was being asked of them tonight. I could tell my upper back and core was getting just done with it all on the last two sets with the last rep or so being quite a challenge. I pretty much had to do breathes every rep to rebrace on that last set to finish things off. The session wasn’t done at this point but it was a big chunk of it to get deadlifts and squats out of the way. Another pause to teardown and setup things and refuel before doing the next thing. Triset but with some fairly big changes. Thankfully back to just three rounds again. The first part still being snatch grip rdls. But now with pauses at the bottom. Suggested being 340-345lbs for the sets of 6 reps here and 2 second pauses. I should be able to handle that with what I’ve been doing. I did not have any belt malfunction this time around. Would’ve sucked with these pauses. Fatigue building up from the hamstrings curls the obvious indicator here. The bigger change was no pull ups. Replaced with dumbbell raise variations. I’ve done these before but different names and different setups. These are for upper back and shoulder health. But I know this is more working the upper back in concert with the snatch grips to keep working that area as a part of focus this off season prep. These were definitely not going to be as taxing to recover from as the pull ups so this did lead to less rest needed between exercises. Also because I could do all of them in the garage. It I raises were easier than the T raises. I’m not sure if I should continue with the same weight dumbbells (which I did for this time) or adjust accordingly. Not a lot difference I think. Hamstring curls like the leg extensions were still the half paused and half go fast style but with it being 12 and 12 rather than 10 and 10 of previous sessions. I could tell these were getting tougher as I went when coupled with the paused snatch grip stuff. It gets dark early and I was hoping to get sandbag stuff setup and done sooner rather than later because I was potentially facing rain coming up. I didn’t bother with the flashing lights on my person this time around as I did a fresh battery for the one big standing flashlight to go with my lantern. Same weight as it has been the past three sessions here but adding another set. So 6 runs with the 225lbs bag. I did try and do some movement and jogging to get my knees moving and hopefully not have the first set or two be such a jolt to the system. I did a little bit but still rough. The speed note was also followed by note to get the bag up higher so more upper back. If figured that I’d need to slow myself down at the start here to make sure I did get it up higher before moving. The first set my pick was a little off as I was still feeling the pulls and squats and such beforehand. The start is a bit slower taking the time to get the bag up higher but I did notice my gait and movement was “freer” this way. Like I was moving like an athlete or something. I checked on packages for my folks (I thought they were gone on a trip) before coming back home to eat dinner and then stretch before bed. Weekend can’t come soon enough.

October 27, 2025 – Week 9, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Push Presses
40x8
70x5
100x3
130x2
160x2
190x2
220x5
220x5
220x5
220x5
220x5

Breathing Pause 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (2 second eccentrics)
90x3
120x3
150x3
180x6
180x6
180x6
180x6
180x6
180x6

Alternating + Together Dumbbell Floor Presses
80’sx6(1/1/1)
80’sx6(1/1/1)
80’sx6(1/1/1)

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Bottoms Up Kettlebell Presses/Assisted Spanish Squats (3-0-3-0 tempo)/ Spanish Squats (3-0-3-0 tempo)
20x15/15 – bwx10 – bwx10
20x15/15 – bwx10 – bwx10
20x15/15 – bwx10 – bwx10

Single Arm Dumbbell Rows/Band Single Leg Seated Leg Extensions (first 12 with 0-1-0-2 tempo)
112x4/4
140x10/10 -- mb+10x12+12/12+12
140x10/10 -- mb+10x12+12/12+12
140x10/10 -- mb+10x12+12/12+12

Stretching

Comments: Weight back up a little to just over 260lbs. This seems to be where I’m floating around week to week for the past 6 months so seems to be consistent. Had felt pretty darn worn out last week with fighting cold/allergy stuff and finally feeling good Sunday but feeling like I needed to spend all that day getting affairs in order with recovery and prepping for work and training week. I was worried about what training on Monday would be. But it does seem that Ms. Funk seems to be calling it just right with training and recovery week to week. So some concerns alleviated from that but others added haha. Only this week to go with dealing with the work in office and then back to what I’d been doing. Foam rolling to start things off. Lower legs needed a good bit. Not so much elsewhere but slight more right quad vs left. Neck rehab stuff followed and that was good. Needed that as shoulders still feeling a little bit tense from last week still and my lower back and hips had felt tense. I ditched some of the movement prep as I felt that my knees were going to be feeling what was coming and not really feeling like what I was doing was actually preparing things. Stretching was needed and it was dark out by this point already. I mean it is going to be worse come next week with the time shift. Ugh. But now time to lift. Axle again. This has been my big concern coming into the session. My worry had been that this would be axle clean and press again and heavier than the week before. There is mental baggage still needing to be worked out here. The last time I did 240lbs for sets of reps and then the next week singles with 256lbs I was to do 3 singles with 260-270lbs and I couldn’t get a lift. That had been frustrating as weights were moving great the previous two weeks. And then axle feeling rough at Worlds. I know that the prep for that had not been ideal with me getting frustrated with my own training and hiring on help four weeks out essentially. So with that on top of worries biceps not recovered enough from Saturday dumbbell work had me on edge. So thankfully that wasn’t the case. Back to out of the rack pressing. But it was back to doing a good bit of volume. Plan was 220lbs for 5x5. No pauses or tempo added so it should be well enough. My knees were feeling stiff warming up and I kind of expected that I’d be doing a more shallow and sharp dip for lower body drive. 30lbs jumps and then time to go. I was apparently still nervous and anxious about missing reps here as I had mistakes. First set I seemed to be a little stiff and got bit more limber and better as I went. But that laxity had me misgroove my fifth rep badly and it became a fight to lock that one out. Not ideal to calm the nerves. period to come back.. Second set I had a bit more power on the first two reps compared to first set but I got off balance on the catch with the third rep and stumbled forward. Now I credit this to all the upper back work this offseason and those ssb front squats that this didn’t rock my world and I was able to resettle and go about my business with pressing. Lockout for the last rep was a little tough. Third set was the ideal set in that it was fast and smooth reps and I didn’t feel taxed. After the first two sets, it felt good to have a set go as it should. Fourth set was about the same but slight stumble forward on the drive up for the first rep but recovered. Last set on last rep rack position got a little loose and drifted forward a little bit so that lockout was a bit tougher than I’d like. But I got through these with no misses despite my issues here. I had also been worried my triceps would be still feeling beat from last week. Setup for pause log incline presses didn’t take as long since I didn’t need to setup the rack until when doing the clean and pressing. Weight dropped down but more sets and reps. Options being 175lbs to 180lbs for 6x6. A lot of pressing volume on the main things this time around. Making up for not cleaning the weight for axle I guess. Shoulders still feeling a bit beat and worn and I could tell eccentrics were sapping my shoulders with the reps and sets today. But no issues and I was able to get through these with the double rest periods and not have any squirrely lockout reps. I did try to be solid with my lockouts on these and not just soft elbow things and move to the next rep. This had been a good bit of pressing and still had more to go in the garage. So first up being the alternating floor presses with dumbbells. Increasing the weights on these finally. But I wasn’t feeling as optimistic with increased weight on these with the previous pressing. 80’s and doing just 6 reps for the 3 sets. I was advised to not be moving so quickly from one to the other with the alternating and to do the one rep first and then the second so that weights are at lockout until finish with the pressing amr and then the double press. Using the plateloaded handles here. They work here since the ROM isn’t shortened despite larger diameter plates with this variation. Again, right shoulder feeling a little wonky but eventually got with the program. The last bits of the workout being the supersets. Another change to the first one. So continuing the bottoms up kettlebell nonsense from last week. Sets of 15 reps with same weight. I didn’t bother doing warm ups here as the weight is light and I’m going to be doing a lot of reps and it is a decent amount of time under tension keeping the balance. These are tougher for the left side oddly enough (considering my better side for circus dumbbell). I only lost balance once and this time on the right side and It didn’t take me forever to get it back in position like last week. Another change to the Spanish squats. First being reps instead of time. The second being switching the order so starting with assisted and then unassisted. And finally, adding tempo. So 3 seconds up and 3 seconds down. 20 reps which would be 2 minutes of work each set. I had to double check that with Ms. Funk to make sure I wasn’t getting this wrong. I’d do it but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing this for no reason. But it was accurate. As I’ve mentioned, it seems to take a fair bit of effort to get my knees to not be cranky with me to do these and today was no exception. But when they are good and ready, these do feel glorious. The assisted version that is. The tempo definitely helped with having these feel better with the time under tension. The unassisted are still just looking like awkward standing squats with band traction as I lean forward a good bit. At this point, I’m just treating them as different exercises. Definitely feeling the effort here in my legs. The legs need it. Final pairing of the evening one arm dumbbell rows and the banded leg extensions. Back to 3 sets for each and same weights/resistance but more reps. So sets of 10 for the rows and 12+12 reps for the leg extensions. I was advised to pause slightly in the bottom of the movement so that I wasn’t just using momentum to get through that bottom range with the stretch. The added reps were noted on the rows. Leg extensions just ok. Knees are crackling. But got through another session but man was it late. Late dinner, stretching and clean up before bed. Thankfully I had prepped some stuff Sunday so that getting work ready was a little smoother.

October 25, 2025 – Week 8, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x8
155x6
205x4
245x2
285x1
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (left side only)
49x4
72x3
94x2
108x1
120x1
135x1
145x4
145x4
145x4
145x4

Yoke
225x50’
325x50’
425x50’
EMOM
525x50’
525x50’
525x50’
525x50’
525x50’
525x50’

ATG Split Squats (24”)/Ab Wheel
bwx8/8 – bwx12
bwx8/8 – bwx12
bwx8/8 – bwx12

Rower
1500m in 5 minutes 27.80 seconds

Stretching

Comments: I was still feeling pretty rough Thursday and ended up just taking the day off after work from doing anything and trying to get some things from the week sorted out. As well as try to get to bed early and see if getting some more sleep helps shake it off. Maybe that helped but I certainly was desiring more sleep. But I felt like actually doing stuff Friday so I’d say a positive. Just trying to get through another week of this in office stuff and then back home for a month. Assuming things stay the same. Who knows these days. Lots of crazy stuff. So much so I forgot to mention that Midwest qualifier for Natural Strongman posted and I like these events the most of the qualifiers. Still waiting to see if/what the West Coast looks like. I woke up for Saturday about the same time as last weekend which is a bit helpful with getting training out of the way at a somewhat reasonable time to have time to do things later. So the getting up an hour early for work thing has benefitted in that regard.  I was pleasantly surprised that driving out to train was fine. It did look like there was construction for the way back but it was late enough at that time that it was resolved on the return trip. There weren’t a ton of people when I got there but people did start coming in while I was there and I did end up helping with some training/strongman stuff this time around. I had thought I was good today with allergies but I was wrong and regretted not taking a Claritin before heading out (only did nasal spray). Foam rolling was needed for my lower legs but not really much elsewhere again and then moved on to the neck rehab stuff. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees (and my hips/abs) before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. I did make some slight adjustments to the one exercise for my knees and maybe that actually helped some. It was cool enough that I didn’t feel I needed to turn on the fans and I’m sure if I did, I’d have some people complain about it as it had been quite chill in the gym before I got warmed up. Heel elevated ssb squats to start things off as per usual with this offseason. Plan was to do 6x4 with about the same weight as last week (305-315lbs). A slight improvement on how the knees were feeling warming up. Which is a lot better than how they felt two weeks prior. The notes were that I was getting the depth but I was tending to have hips come up first and the rest following so forward lean putting more stress on back and such. So advised to try and keep hips under me and to think of the little muscles in the knee. I may need to ask for some clarification on the visualization on that but I did try to focus on the hips thing and I think I did get that to be a little better this time around. My first set didn’t feel like it has with feeling super rough and needing to breath pause each rep that first set. The allergies were making things a little tough with breathing but I knew I could handle this as not as bad as it was Wednesday. I had a little hiccup on the fourth set with the third rep getting a little too forward at the top of the lift and I had to pause to get myself balanced again with foot pressure before doing the last rep there. Other than that, went decently well with squatting. Pressing from there. Back to circus dumbbell. Still just using my strong side and do it as I would competition style. These had gone about as well as I had hoped last time so I had expectations here but I also knew that I was feeling a bit rough with stress and allergies this week so to also temper those expectations. The plan for the session was to do 4x4 with 5-10lbs more than last time. I had a better idea of things with warming up and figured that I’d make plans to adjust as needed to see what working weight would be. Figured I’d skip the lightest bell and go to the next heaviest and then bigger jumps until I got to the heavier bells. So the good is that I didn’t seem to have an issue with the weight on my upper back and traps initially like the first session, but my knees were quite achy initially. I was also a little worried that my triceps wouldn’t be firing as well as they should as the little muscles around my elbows were feeling Monday sessions still (especially those bottoms up presses). I felt that it didn’t make sense to use a real dumbbell with a fatgripz to warm up and just put weight in the second lightest dumbbell with clamps and that seemed to work fine. The 94lbs dumbbell feels awkward compared to the 108lbs and the 120lbs empty bells. But I need a bridge to make the gap there as the 49lbs one can’t really hold much weight in it to get to that weight. I was feeling iffy with things up to this point but 120lbs did fly up for me again so I was hopeful that 150lbs would be what was good today. But 135lbs as my in between jump didn’t feel solid or great and it grazed my ear on the way down on the lip so that was not fun. Thankfully, it didn’t cut my ear so no bleeding but it smarts. So I went with just 5lbs over last time. First set wasn’t a great one. Not as crisp as some reps were last time. I got two reps and got a little off balance on the clean for the third rep and took a step back to reset and collect myself before going for the fourth rep. That rep did end up being the best rep of the set and how I want the reps to feel. It is a fine line to thread here with getting reps fast in the time limit vs getting the solid reps so that sloppiness doesn’t cost me reps and energy. That last rep going like that did give me a little confidence boost. But I also appeared to have nicked my right thumb (non pressing hand) on one of the bolts on the dumbbell. It didn’t bleed profusely and it was such that just wiping or licking away did the trick. Second set first rep was fine but I just seemed to get off balance in the dip for the second rep and had to catch myself. That rep went out away from me so not ideal on the press. The other two reps were just so so. I think I got a little more aggressive after that set as the third set the reps were better and more crisp and essentially going right from receiving the dumbbell on the shoulder into the press. Only a slight hesitation going for the last rep here as the third rep I had to walk a little to catch. Fourth and last set was interesting. The first three reps were just bang on effortless and just how I want the reps to be feeling here. But the fourth rep was garbage. I got too loose and it got out of position and I had to strain to get close to lockout before I lost control. I’d not give myself the rep at competition. But it was the last rep of the last set and I figured it was best not to push things here and strain something out of frustration. I know that I can get these weights moving. From there it was on to yoke. These have been quite exhausting with the many sets of 50’ with EMOM style rest. Continuing that but with a drop in the sets to go with increase in weight. 25lbs added and taking away 4 sets. Notes here were to try and push the yoke forward and to get drive off the back foot as I tend to be very flat footed on these. I did 100lbs jumps warming up as I’ve been doing and did try to go fast off the start even with the warming up to see how pushing forward rather than pushing out goes as well as trying to push off back foot. The new cues did initially have me at odds with things and my first working set I could tell that I wasn’t quite getting things to go together. Trying to put all together but had me a little unfocused with my bracing so that was my slowest run. However, I think I got things clicking a little better after that and runs were more consistent with how I have been doing. I may need to think on what I can do to actually have my back leg drive be a thing on these. That was the last of the really intense stuff this session as yet another change to the superset. Trying to get my knees to feel good and dropping the previous exercise for some regression of split squat with working on hip, knee and ankle mobility. So second half was still the ab wheel for 3x12 but the first half was modified atg split squats. Just bodyweight for 3x8 and advised to use a really high box to start. No knee sleeves to try and see what we got here and try to make progress. These were not taxing for me with 24” box height so I was able to just go from one thing to the next without any rest between sets. The ab wheel was the intense part of it and was getting sore in the lower abs. I’ve done the atg split squats before with elevation and from the floor. It is usually strain in the knee on the back leg that hampers things until warmed up. The is a pretty obvious mobility difference between my left side and my right with the knee over toe ROM. Left side tends to move freely but there can be some instability issues. Right side tends to ache and not as good ROM. This is the knee that has given me issues for over 4yrs now anyways. Forcing the stretch on that side has not been helpful in the past either. But we have a place to start. Rowing to once again finish up the session. Same distance as last time but aim to beat my time. This had felt better last week compared to the first week, even with the 500m distance increase. The notes for this was to not just think “go fast” but powerful strokes and consistency. I felt a lot less drained doing this even with my allergies. I ended up doing a good deal better than last week with beating my previous 1000m time by about 20 seconds and then the 1500m time by just under 30 seconds. I felt like I did work when I stopped but recovery seems to be better. Downed my shake and got in the car for home and then stretching there. Need to get some quality sleep to tolerate another week in office. But hey, back to telework after that for a month.

October 22, 2025 – Week 8, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
121x5
171x5
211x3
261x3
301x2
351x2
391x1
441x2
441x2
441x2
441x2
441x2

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (21”)
65x6
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
275x6
275x6
275x6
275x6

Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps)/Paused Pull Ups (1 second)/Lying Band Leg Curls (first 10 with 3 seconds pauses)
245x3/bwx3 (no pauses)/(2)mmbx3+3
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10

Sandbag Carries
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’

Stretching

Comments: After work Tuesday I started to feel like allergies were hitting or I was getting a cold. I’d rather that didn’t happen. I was feeling some stuff in the shoulders and elbows/triceps (soreness) and took Dayquil to hopefully give myself a fighting chance. I was hoping I was good but regretted not taking an allergy pill before heading out the door (only nasal spray) as I was feeling off all day. I was seriously considering just taking the day off from training after work and just doing this workout the next day so I could rest. But I figured that even doing that was probably just going to impact recovery for other stuff. So I told myself that if taking an allergy pill when I got home from work and doing my soft tissue work had me feeling a little better, I’d push on through the workout. So here we are. Foam rolling was fine, just needed more on the right quad compared to other stuff. Rehab stuff for neck continues to be helpful. Been keeping in the calf and tib raises with some glute activation work as it has seemed to be good for me. Seemed to feel a little better compared to last week. Did my normal stretching before moving on to training. Axle deadlifts again. These had felt a good bit better last time and I was kind of looking forward to them but that was before I felt worn down with whatever was making me tired. Plan was to do 440lbs for 5x2. I’d say as far as how weights felt, this was not as good as last week but better than the week before that. Start of these didn’t seem to be the best here this time around as seemed to feel a bit more back then I’d like. The allergy meds and whatever I had with my breathing did have it feel like a bit more pressure but it seemed to move well enough here. And not belt malfunction this time around (though jinxed myself later lol). While feeling decently heavy, they moved well enough and I didn’t need to take long breaks to recover. It was pretty much just my usual walking so not much over 90 seconds and ready to go. I did enjoy myself despite the congestion with doing some air guitar before the first set. Put stuff away and rehydrated while setting up for the next thing; front box squats with the ssb. These had been fucking rough last week. The added ROM with a lower box height as well as the reps being more than 3 had these become quite taxing. I was adding in a longer rest last time too to get through this. But despite that, I was hoping these would be better. Even with the whatever. Plan was same weight as last time but for four sets this time around. With how squats seem to go for me with changes, usually I get better as I go with them and usually I improve from the previous session. I was even wondering if this would be easy enough to add a little weight to it. Now the good news is that my knees ached a good bit less on these. But these were still quite challenging getting to depth. So I stuck to the actual plan of 275x4x6 as written. I was able to pick up my pace here with rest periods and time between reps with recovery to do the next rep. So that is certainly progress for me there. I didn’t need a fan this session for the gym with how cool it was and I got myself pretty warm here. Another brief respite to get some fluids in before doing the triset. Same as last week with weights, exercises and reps but now doing it for four times around instead of three. So I knew this was probably going to get pretty draining, especially with how I was feeling. Snatch grip rdls felt a little heavy at the start but seemed to stay consistent. Last set I had the cursed belt malfunction and did most of the set without it as it dangled there uselessly. But also shows I can handle this weight fine I guess. I was more nervous about the pull ups as these are challenging. The first two sets went about as well as they could and third set was tough but doable. Last set though was really tough and barely got the last rep after having to stand up and reset to get it. The hamstring curls were pretty all things considered. It was getting pretty late so I tried to get things setup for sandbag carries to finish off the evening. Going to make sure these showed up on camera this time around. No changes to last time with same weight and sets. Advised to think speed and move quickly. There is still a lag from picking up to moving with it. Down the street and up the street there is also about 1 second difference between times there. But it does seem like that I was moving a bit better compared to two weeks ago going from video at least. The speed was increasing each set (odds being up the street and evens down the street). Right knee was a bit sore from that but seemed to be fine after I was done. Put stuff away and finally time to eat. Stretched, cleaned up and went to bed after taking some more Dayquil.

October 20, 2025 – Week 8, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Clean and Push Presses (one clean)
46x8
76x5
106x3
136x2
166x1
196x1
226x1
256x1
256x1
256x1
256x0 (missed press)
256x1
256x1
256x1

Breathing Pause 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (2 second eccentrics)
90x3
125x3
160x3
190x5
190x5
190x5
190x5

Alternating + Together Dumbbell Floor Presses
70’sx10(1/1/1)
70’sx10(1/1/1)
70’sx10(1/1/1)
70’sx10(1/1/1)

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Bottoms Up Kettlebell Presses/Spanish Squats (15 seconds unassisted, 15 seconds assisted)
20x6/6 – bwx15 (assisted)
20x12/12 – bwx15/15 seconds
20x12/12 – bwx15/15 seconds
20x12/12 – bwx15/15 seconds

Single Arm Dumbbell Rows/Band Single Leg Seated Leg Extensions (first 10 with 2 seconds pauses)
112x3/3
140x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10
140x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10
140x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10
140x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10

Stretching

Comments: Weight down a bit again with being under 260lbs. As long as I’m not going under 255lbs and losing strength/leverages, I’m ok. I did wish I had another three day weekend as it just seems to be uncomfortable with this work schedule after being used to telework stuff for the past 5yrs. I had a feeling this session would take a long time just from how things were last week and this did appear to be more volume on stuff. Lower abs weren’t really sore now and I didn’t feel like stuff was as sore from the erg row stuff this time around. But still a bit cautious with my knees here and upper arms from log cleans. And doing all this in the dark essentially. Foam rolling to start things off. Honestly not too bad but definitely noticeable with the quads for the right leg. Neck rehab stuff followed by some movement prep for the knees and ankles. Did the usual stretching after that. Didn’t need to double it this time. And then it was time to train. Axle up first. I knew this would be here again with a clean and press (one could hope lol) and I had a feeling that the suggested thing was going to be 250-255lbs for singles. 240lbs had moved well enough and this had been the case with the prep for worlds having the next week be about the same weight. Hope being that I could string the workouts together. I had not needed to worry about two clean and press sessions at that time either. Plan for the day was 6 singles with the selected weight. I just went with 256lbs with my 26lbs axle having it start with 10lbs bumper plates. I’m fairly certain my patio under the rubber stall mats is gravel at this point. I was anxious here in that the last time I approached this weight was at worlds in warm ups and I missed it. My last warm up wasn’t exactly inspiring. I was quite worried that I’d screw this up. What seems to work best is to get a good pull and move fast from the catch on the belt to pop up to the shoulders. Slowed down seems to be where the movement dies for me. First lift went up well enough. Clean felt crisp and a little shakey on the leg drive going into the dip. Ok, good start. Second one the clean was about the same but I had to do a double take with feeling comfortable for the press to be initiated. I made sure after that to make sure the weight clamps were even as it had shifted slightly after the first rep. Third rep ended up being the best rep of the day here and had me confident. Which lead to the fourth lift attempt. The clean didn’t catch quite as high and I had to walk forward to catch it and that just seemed to screw everything up for me with the press. My right foot slipped on me with the first attempt at the press and I had get my balance and then trying a second time I got the same feeling as my second set with the weight not feeling secure going into the dip so another double take there. All that really sapped the momentum and I couldn’t get the press. Frustrating but I knew this was a form issue and just need to walk it off and take a rest period to come back. Obviously if after that if it was another miss, I’d be calling it there. The second attempt at the fourth single did go up. Clean fine but press had me going a bit forward to catch it. Penultimate set the clean got a little botched in the rack as I didn’t quite catch it and had to get my hands under it in the rack so I was a bit worried as last time I had to fiddle with weight in the rack position I had a miss but it ended up being a very strong and powerful press this time. One more to go. Not the best rep but it got up there. Did some walking in place with the weight overhead for dominance. Survived another overhead event session. Had to put stuff away from that to setup things for the pause log incline presses. Still same plan here with the breath pause and eccentrics with same weight as last time but adding a set. I wasn’t feeling as strong here as I was last week. My right shoulder was feeling a little tense/ache from the axle stuff potentially as well as doing log two days ago with clean and press. My hope here was that I’d be able to handle this and that I’d feel better as I went at least with the shoulder. That did seem to be the case and these did feel pretty strong. Into the garage for the alternating floor presses with dumbbells. Same weight as it has been and same reps but another set added on. Volume the name of the game I guess. Right shoulder feeling a little wonky did have things not quite as coordinated but it did feel like by the end that it was feeling ok and calming down on me. But man are these getting exhausting. Moving on to the supersets and the first one had a change. So still half kneeling pressing and Spanish squats but changes to both in intent and variation. So with the half kneeling presses, I’m to do them now with kettlebell and do that bottom’s up style. IE, inverted so balancing the kettlebell. I have 10lbs and 15lbs kettlebells (the 10’s are metal, the 15’s plastic and sand) and a loadable handle. Plan was 3x12. I was not expecting the balance on my wrists to be so challenging. My left side was having a harder time with it vs my right side. I ended up using only 20lbs here. These weren’t taking on my shoulders. Left side had a doozy of a time on the second set getting that last rep as kept losing it. I know my loadable handle increases the awkwardness I’m sure. Spanish squats also adjusted. Instead of set time on the assisted style, attempting to get me doing these unassisted with then doing time assisted. I feel I’m still a long way off here as these tend to take a good bit of effort to have my knees ready to handle them and then get myself coordinated. 15 seconds without the rope assist and 15 seconds with it. The without assist I’m really leaning forward and I can’t mimic the form with the rope to lean back. These being less taxing overall did mean I could go from one to the other back to back without needing to take rests like some of the supersets and trisets need. No changes to the new superset of one arm dumbbell rows and the some paused and some not leg extensions. Plan being same weight and reps but four sets this time. With the row, I did add 5lbs to it just because. I tend to adapt to rows quick enough and it seemed to be fine there. The leg extensions weren’t as bad I think as last time as far as not having waterlogged ankle weights. But I was antsy to get things done as it was really late. My knees didn’t seem to be so annoyed this time around. Just have to be mindful of placement on the movement. Put stuff away and had a later dinner before stretching.

October 18, 2025 – Week 7, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x8
155x6
205x4
245x2
280x1
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
88x5
110x4
132x3
154x2
176x2
198x2
220.5x0
220.5x3
220.5x3
220.5x3
220.5x3

Yoke
200x50’
300x50’
400x50’
EMOM
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’

Split Squat Pulses/Ab Wheel
20’sx45 seconds/45 seconds – bwx12
20’sx45 seconds/45 seconds – bwx12
20’sx45 seconds/45 seconds – bwx12

Rower
1500m in 5 minutes 57.20 seconds

Stretching

Comments: Survived the week of in office work again. I thankfully didn’t feel so rundown this time around needing to take allergy meds or Dayquil Friday like last week. I’d spent the past two days keeping an eye on my right knee with the aches as well as my right heel/ankle. Stress and focus on that I guess with things going on. I can’t exactly be my most comfortable in the office like I can when at home. Funeral stuff for the one uncle is set for next month and is local so taking leave for that. Work is about to get more stressful unfortunately after feeling like I was in a good spot due to the continuing federal shutdown. The last one in 2018 had not been great but there was apparently enough funds that people getting the assistance my department provides were mostly unaffected as resolved in enough time there wasn’t a lapse. This is apparently not the case this time around and notified there isn’t funding for next month. Notified about this in the early afternoon Friday. On top of that, nothing after 10/15/2025 is considered approved. Still supposed to continue working and processing but nothing will be provided until federal government reopens. And that is on the assumption that it will be reimbursed. But I’ve seen how things have not been honored with the federal government. This has never happened during my over 13yrs at this job and the people needing help and my coworkers are worried. With everything this week, I fell behind with some things and felt it was best to get sleep and worry about those things later. I woke up for Saturday about the same time as last weekend but I was a bit slower getting out to train taking care of things that I had let pile up. I was pleasantly surprised that driving out to train was fine. I was apparently late for strongman stuff as people doing that left by the time I finished with my warming up but other people not doing that did eventually show up. Foam rolling was needed for my lower legs but not really much elsewhere and then moved on to the neck rehab stuff. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees (and my hips/abs) before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. The knees and ankles were feeling ok considering things. Then on to training. Still doing the ssb squats with heels elevated and atg style. I was a little nervous with things as knee aches and ankle/heel. But bodyweight in that position was fine and figured I was good. It isn’t like me doing anything was making things worse (or better). Plan was to do 5x4 with either the same weight as last week or a little bit more. Knees weren’t feeling as bad warming up as last week so that was a little surprising but good for me here. Same warming up with more reps like last week. At least until I got to 2 plates. At this point, I had to see what felt good and options being either same jump as last week or a little more if I was feeling good. I made a change in my hard belt here to see if that felt ok. I’ve been using the more flexible hard belt so far with these squats as I’d been treating them more for building leg drive in my overhead rather than squats for squats sake. But since it has been a few weeks where the notes of “light squat” have been removed, I figured that I should adjust and have the firmer support for my midsection and core if it didn’t impact my mobility. It did not and the single felt decent so I went with 10lbs more than last week for the sets. As has been the case, the first set is not great and it feels like I have to really take it slow. Like the other sets working up didn’t really get me warmed up. Did a rep and then took a breath after shaking my head clear and pretty much had to do that for every rep that first set. But after that it wasn’t so bad and I was able to mostly string the reps together and not have to spend as much time with getting comfortable to squat from the unrack. Squats seem to be one of those weird ones where if I’m doing sets, that if I survive the first one, I’m getting the other sets done and probably easier by the end of it. Essentially 100lbs added to squats since start of this off season after not doing them really for a good long while (as far as back squats). Pressing from there. Not circus dumbbell like last week this time but also not axle. Log pressing. I’ve not done a log clean and press since June of 2024. I’ve done strict presses out of the rack. Log and circus dumbbell tend to go well together as far as one hitting what the other misses but being the same support. Circus dumbbell every week tends to beat me up and I’ll have real lows on some weeks. I was not expecting the same fits like a glove moment here with log compared to circus dumbbell despite it being longer away from the implement. It has been even longer from me doing clean and press every rep in a set I think. I was going to be seeing if I could handle log cleans with different equipment. For the longest time, I’ve used my oly shoes for log and worn my pronged belt. I’ve stopped wearing the oly shoes as my knees were killing me on overhead since the start of this year and I was having issues with my pressing. Pressing is down but I’ve seemed to be handling pressing with leg drive again. No issues with cleans and such on axle and dumbbell. But log is a different story. I’ve tried to just to lap the log like I usually do wearing other shoes and the balance felt off and didn’t feel comfortable. I was also going to wear my ply belt that doesn’t stick out as much here as well. Especially since I’m not using those on my other overheads now. I did bring that other gear in case this was just not working out. But starting from scratch essentially. So plan was to work up to 4x4-3 at about RPE 8. I weighed the log at the gym (as I can’t trust the written numbers there lol) and it was a little heavier than listed and since I didn’t want to be focusing so much on the number being lifted (since I knew I was going to be likely well off my best) I added a little weight to it so it was 40kgs empty and then used the 5-10kgs plates to load it up. I’d have a general idea of what I was lifting but not know exactly with the kilos. Right away, the lap and stability felt off and my knees were really achy on the press that first set. I did more reps than I had initially intended to do warming up with the clean every rep to get used to things again. I had planned less reps and bigger jumps but that seemed not the best option here. I feel like I did get used to things and it was more just not being used to log rather than the movement not feeling the same. So 10kgs jumps and doing reps so that I got an idea of things. Not like with axle where I’ve done that enough and recently that I can save it on warm ups. I felt that 100kgs was where I should be to do work. Things did not start out well as I went for that first rep and it went out in front of me and I missed it. Rather than fight it and try go continue the set, I treated it as partial attempt warm up and walked it off to collect myself before going at it for “real”. I know I have this in me after the previous set and I know this was just a misgroove. Going for the first actual set, the first rep went up fine enough. But I was nervous and didn’t want to have another missed attempt and I took these like singles. It was not encouraging to pick up the pace with the second rep and then third rep getting tougher on the press. I hesitated after the third rep and decided that I’m doing just triples today as I could be pushing it with trying to do 4 reps per set and leaving 2RIR. Especially after seeing how easy it was to misgroove a press here. Second set I had to wait a bit as I didn’t have it settled in the rack attempting the first press but it did go up smooth. Same with second minus having to wait for it to be settled. Third rep was a little tougher but this felt like a better set overall. So feeling a little better and attempted to keep my hands on the log the entire set for the next one as that would be the ideal pacing if doing in contest. First rep was good, second rep I had to catch balance a little with the back foot so that had me slow down and take an extra beat going for the third rep. Which I think also made me feel like that a little heavier on the pick than I’d have liked. But still go the rep here. Last set I got a little forward on that first rep but finished it out. Kept my hands on the log and didn’t take as long to get myself from one rep to the next. It is a good thing that log isn’t coming up for my next competition (I mean it is but I wasn’t planning on going at it with the optional press event) as it needs work and I probably need to keep it in the rotation going forward at least with offseason type stuff. Yoke after that. I had thought that the 8 sets of 50’ EMOM style had been pretty tiring. So why not add another 2 sets to that? So that was the thing. These had felt pretty exhausting by like 3 sets in last time so I was hoping that I wasn’t going to be that this time. Same weight and same warming up although I feel like I was a little more deliberate with lighter weights. Working on that slight split stance start. I did not feel like I had to get faster as I went due to the fatigue. I was feeling like I was running pretty efficient from the start. I was a little anxious about the ankle/heel but that didn’t seem to be a factor. I do think I had runs this time around that were faster than last week’s best. I was getting pretty sweaty here. I’m sticking with the ply belt over the prong belt as I feel like this will let me move a little better with breathing when it comes to having to carry a sandbag in the event (especially one shaped like a husafel). Last setw as definitely my slowest of the runs but talking about a less than 1 second variance I think from my fastest and slowest runs of these. This was good work. A change to the last weighted exercise setup for the session. The superset that became a triset is now a superset again. But the one being sent home was the incline crush presses. Not sure if this is just a short stint or if this change is with the increased weights on pressing. So that leaves us with the split squat pulses and ab wheel. Same weights for both but more reps (time in the case of the split squats pulses). I set things up so that I could essentially crawl from one thing to the next without standing up lol. I didn’t want my knees to be feeling like last week at the start jumping in, especially not with how achy they were this week. So I spent time trying to get that ready. It was a rough but I think feeling somewhat better. Oddly enough, the left side felt better this time around compared to the right from last week. Probably because right knee achy. These didn’t feel so exhausting while doing them but the moment I put the weights down, the fatigue hits all at once. And my darn lower abs are still sore from the ab wheel stuff a week ago so it was just adding more gas to the first there with more reps. But hopefully if these continue, I’ve been adequately inoculated. Rowing to once again finish up the session. I was not expecting the distance to increase by 500m from last time. That had been pretty rough for me and feeling quite sore in the hip flexors. But most endurance things tend to suck at first and then continue to suck but not as much. I made sure that I didn’t have issues with the foot straps like last time. I feel like I had a better expectation of how long this would take and the effort required. I just barely beat my 1000m time from last week and did managed to get 1500m done in under 6 minutes. My hips were feeling these again but not as much. Honestly, my tibilais felt the most worked this time around. Finally able to cool off and drink stuff. Put stuff away and drove back home to stretch. I don’t have the luxury of a three day weekend this time around.

October 15, 2025 – Week 7, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
116x5
156x5
206x3
246x3
296x2
336x2
386x1
426x5
426x5
426x5
426x5
426x5

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (21”)
65x6
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
275x6
275x6
275x6

Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps)/Paused Pull Ups (1 second)/Lying Band Leg Curls (first 10 with 3 seconds pauses)
245x3/bwx3 (no pauses)/(2)mmbx3+3
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10
335x8/bwx8/(2)mmbx10+10

Sandbag Carries
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’

Stretching

Comments: Got news Tuesday. My one family member did pass in the very early morning. They had been suffering so it is good they are at peace now. Funeral stuff a bit in the air and confusing with federal government shutdown somewhat effecting burial. But that is a later issue and not for me to figure out. Some good news as far as the other family member with medical issue is that it seems the one issue has been resolved and on the mend. Weather changes and the increased workload on my lower body did have my right knee feeling a lot more achy than I’d like it to. My ankle also a little stiff/achy as well on that side. Not terribly surprising going with heavy axle clean and presses after heavy circus dumbbell (which going to just the left side does spare my right knee) and a ton of yoke volume work. I needed a good bit of foam rolling for my right leg on both the calf and quads. Otherwise everything else seemed to be fine. Neck rehab stuff was fine. Kept the calf and tib raises again with some glute activation work. Seemed to feel a little better compared to last week. Did my normal stretching before moving on to training. Axle deadlifts again. These had not felt great last week so I was not sure how these would go. Lower abs still sore from Saturday (it takes so long for them to recover after the first session) and I was not sure with the right knee aches adding to just how uncomfortable these felt last week. I elected to just use bumper plates and standard plates this time around as the big wheels idea was a bust. For whatever reason, the weights didn’t roll out of position so I didn’t need to get the crash pads here. So plan for the session was to work up to 5x5 with 415-425lbs. So a little bit lighter than last time but more volume. I had mentioned how heavy stuff had felt and I don’t think with the frame of mind from that time I would’ve expected to keep pushing forward with that intensity. But could’ve just been the ebb and flow of things with just recovery and stress as I am already surprised with how strong stuff had felt on Monday considering things. We seem to be doing some things right here as I felt a good bit stronger coming into this session. Like I felt how I should with these weights. I did have a belt malfunction going for that first set and had to restart. I thankfully had no further belt issues. But I could tell today was going to be different with the pulls as to how that first pull before the belt came undone felt. It was annoying but it gave me a feel that things would be in my favor. I know my form isn’t great on deadlifts yet (I mean not like I’ve been doing these for over 20yrs or something) but feeling pretty good and controlled here. I was a little uncertain with hamstring tension before the working sets but was no issue at the heavy stuff. I was getting a little silly between sets amusing myself with setup to pull which tends to be a good sign when I’m able to enjoy myself. Third set I did kind of a reset each rep where not keeping rigid form the entire time so I was rebracing each rep from scratch at the bottom. Fourth set I was a little loose as I accidentally did kind of touch and go on one rep (not intentional). But I liked how things went here. It was good work and I didn’t feel like things were strained that shouldn’t be feeling it like last time. Put stuff away and rehydrated while setting up for the next thing. Front box squats with the ssb as has been the case. But I guess I’ve been having it too easy/good for too long here. These have been to an above parallel box of 24” so far. And man was even going to that the first week rough on my knees and having to essentially fall back the last bit of the movement. So with I guess mastering that height, adding in more ROM. Reducing box height by 3”. This is essentially parallel but a little above for me with the hard foam. Not an ideal time with my knees being especially achy this week. Plan here being 3x6. My hope was that I could keep about the same warming up that should hopefully gauge my knees and have me feeling warm and ready for the working sets with my hope being about 285-295lbs. I knew that I’d likely need to drop the weight a good bit from the 24” height. I had some issues getting the box the right height but did eventually get it figured out and stable. This was about as rough as the first week of these had been with knees and finding the box/depth. My last warm up did at least feel best of the warming up sets but not super confident. Went with just 275lbs and leaving possibility if that was easier than expected or felt better to add weight. It was not easier than expected. The good thing is that having worked up to 315lbs on the other variation has me feeling quite comfortable with holding the weight in the rack position because I needed that time to recover from the difficulty of each rep. Definitely lacking at this height. I ended up taking double rests to make sure I recovered here as that first set felt really damn tough. Thankfully, the movement did feel better as I went and I felt less stiff and worried about it. But it was still really tough. So pulls and squats done and on to the triset. Essentially the same with snatch grip rdls, paused pull ups and band lying leg curls. The rdls the weight and reps changed. Plan being 3x8 and suggested 325-335lbs. I was going to go with 335lbs as I felt that I could handle it with how axle pulls felt today. I did try and see if I could setup things on my outside power rack rather than the sawhorses but not enough space for my hands to safely fit to rack the weights. Notes also indicated to brace hard. Tried to keep that in mind but sometimes the first issue is feeling like I can do the lift first and everything feels good and then add it in there. I was also a little worried I’d pop my belt doing that (I did not). These felt pretty strong but I could tell I was getting tired by the end. The paused pull ups same as it was but told to do 3x8 here. So no wiggle room suggested like last week. I was uncertain with how these would go as left arm still feeling Saturday and now Monday session of circus dumbbells, axle and one arm rows. Also the soreness in the lower abs. So I was nervous I’d fall short of expectations. But to my surprise, these felt even stronger than the week before and only really had to fight to get the last rep on the last set. So that was good. The leg curls were adjusted slightly in that not paused every rep. The pauses were increased for the reps that were paused though. So like the leg extensions with bands in that first 10 paused and then regular style fast movement. These didn’t feel too bad and oddly enough the fast reps after the pauses were tougher I think. Maybe because the fast style doesn’t give a moment to recover and just pump them out. It was even later than it was last week when I got to the sandbag stuff. Darker out as well. I put away only a few things so that I could move right along as I was pretty much going to eat a late dinner and then have a little bit to clean up and then down a shake and go to bed. So sandbag carries again. It had been 225lbs for 3-4 sets of 50’ last week and I did 4 because they were easy to recover from and I didn’t want to have to bring the sandbag back with my not so good handtruck/dolly system that week. This time it being 5 sets and I was seriously considering just doing 6 so I didn’t have the same issue potentially. But the moving things around wasn’t as bad as last time had been as I knew what to do and I also wasn’t feeling so discombobulated in my lower body. I feel like these went better than last week. I’d like to say that with 100% certainty but I apparently forgot to hit record so I don’t know. From feel, I felt like my pick ups were less labored and I was moving/running faster. There is still an issue with lag between me picking up the bag and getting into the hold position to move and then just moving. Granted, the weight will be about 80lbs heavier so not as bad I think compared to if this was this light for the event with me not being the fastest. Put stuff away while dinner heated up. Stretched and cleaned up before getting to bed. Only got 2 more weeks of this in office nonsense messing up my scheduled thankfully.

October 13, 2025 – Week 7, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Clean and Push Presses
One Clean
30x10
60x5
90x3
120x2
150x1
180x1
210x1
Clean Every Rep
240x3
240x3
240x3
240x3

Breathing Pause 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (2 second eccentrics)
90x3
125x3
160x3
190x5
190x5
190x5

Alternating + Together Dumbbell Floor Presses
70’sx10(1/1/1)
70’sx10(1/1/1)
70’sx10(1/1/1)

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Dumbbell Presses/Assisted Spanish Squats
40x4/4 – bwx15
70x8/8 – bwx60 seconds
70x8/8 – bwx60 seconds
70x8/8 – bwx60 seconds

Single Arm Dumbbell Rows/Band Single Leg Seated Leg Extensions (first 10 with 2 seconds pauses)
72x4/4
112x3/3
135x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10
135x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10
135x8/8 -- mb+10x10+10/10+10

Stretching

Comments: I had definitely needed a three day weekend with how the previous week had run me ragged. I’d not have functioned if I had to go into work Monday just getting everything ready for the coming week. That new stress coupled with one family member in hospice and another in the hospital and with the general shittiness of everything right now. But trying to focus on positives. I’m doing well. I introduced one of my younger sister’s friends to strength training and strongman and a friend got engaged. Weight back to what it was two weeks ago. Finally feeling normal Monday. It is good that I had off as with the planned training if I had to do it after 5:30PM, it would’ve been a nightmare with the weather. I probably would’ve needed to move it to Tuesday but that would’ve messed with other things. So again, good it was that I had Monday off to avoid the rain (mostly). I was incredibly nervous with training because of what was being asked at the start and just how sore/fatigued a lot of things were from Saturday still. Hip flexors were sore from rowing, left arm and shoulder from circus dumbbell, lower abs from the ab wheel and feeling a bit beat from all the yoke runs. I was feeling like the pressing on Monday the previous week was going close to limits of recovery and my axle pulls had felt quite tough Wednesday. Foam rolling to start things off. Honestly not too bad with lower body. Did some movement prep for the knees and ankles and did a bit more stretching for the hips and ankles compared to what I usually do just because of how tense things were feeling. And then it was time to train. I was expecting push pressing with axle again. Which is kind of what I got. But not really. Notes were to see about how things were going with axle. Kind of testing out axle, log and dumbbell to see where things are for contest. Even with my plan for the dumbbell with how well that feels and ease or getting quick reps, I was fine with pursuing axle. Well, theoretically fine but incredibly anxious. It has not been kind to me for a few years now but I keep at it. But the fine with part is trying get this problem licked as it isn’t an event that is going away and may be something in my competition after this one. Plan was to work up to 4x3 with style of overhead I’d use in competition with aim being these triples (clean and press each rep) being RPE 8.5-9. Axle is starting to feel better but it is in my head a good bit with how terrible weight was feeling at worlds with missing 255ish in warm ups and not being able to clean 287lbs/130kgs at all. And not doing cleans for almost 2 months. I was nervous with having done a lot of circus dumbbell cleans and that being my underhand grip for the axle. I’d see how things go but I really hoped that I could hit what I had planned. If I was feeling like I did the 2-3 weeks before worlds then this was doable. I went with from the floor as I’m not sure what will be used if at either venue and best to get used to that as I felt like my floor pull was crap on deadlifts last week. This doesn’t feel like really heavy weight but the patio says differently as I feel it become gravel with each rep under the rubber matting. I really had to fight down nerves and get on it with. I knew that I had at least one rep here. I’ve never not started axle and not gotten 240lbs to go up comfortable. And that first rep did. But the second and third reps did have me thinking I had chosen poorly. I didn’t feel like I had it on the first pop to belt to go right into the clean so I had to slow down to let it settle first. If I go fast, I tend to do well in that it stays in motion and goes up. Third rep the press was tough and I had to kind of move under it. I was feeling pretty drained from that with nerves and effort so I did take longer rests here to make sure that I gave these my best effort. Second set first rep was not a great start as I had to essentially pause at each point in the lift and lockout was not crisp. I calmed myself and the second rep went up like it should, easy. Third rep with the press I got a bit forward on the initial dip for leg drive and had to reset and then not the most stable rep. Two triples down, two to go. Third set was finding that groove. That point where calmed enough to think it through and be warmed up enough that firing right while not so fatigued that hampering things. First rep I think I was surprised how quick it went up with the press that a little happy feet to stay rigid. I feel like this was the best overall set of the session on axle. The last set I could tell that I was getting worn from the effort thus far. Press was feeling it on the second rep and the third rep I had to pause on the belt before going for the clean. Going for the press the first time my feet kind of slid back and aborted the press. Really didn’t want to fail this close to finishing things out here. Got it digging deep and walked it back to center while doing a little one leg stand. The big anxiety for the session was put to bed. A little more setup than usual needed to get to the next thing. The past six weeks has been stuff out of the rack and with clean and pressing, I had moved the rack. With training at home today and not working, I took this time to get have a small lunch break. Otherwise be too late and just have and early dinner and one less meal. So put that stuff away to bring back the rack and set things up for those breathing pause log incline presses. Still same plan here with the breath pause and eccentrics were. Notes indicated doing 3x5 with 5-10lbs more than last time. That had felt pretty darn close to my limits near the end. I set things up with my jumps to adjust depending on how I felt. Leaning back on the bench had my abs really feeling the DOMS. Left shoulder a little sore but that is from having a bruise from the circus dumbbell work. I felt pretty strong here and did go with the heavier side of the recommendations. Felt pretty solid which was a pretty surprising considering how rough I was feeling doing these last week. Into the garage for the alternating floor presses with dumbbells. Same weight as last two weeks but this time going back down to 3 sets but now doing 10 rep sets. I was pretty thrilled to see how much more efficiently I was moving the weight last week compared to the first week. And this was feeling about the same honestly. Coordination felt good and I wasn’t really feeling the hard fatigue even by the end. As Ms. Funk had told me after I messaged about how axle went, the extra work is paying off. Moving on to the supersets. It started to rain a little at this point. Just misting really but it was enough that it caused me issues. So first part of the superset pairing still the one arm pressing while in half kneeling. Reps lowered with options being 3x6-8 with 60-70lbs dumbbell. I figured going for 70lbs and with that being enough weight that I should probably need a warm up/acclimation set. This made sense especially since the other half of the pairing was still the Spanish squats and those need a good bit of coaxing for my knees and joints to be chill with it. So did a set of the press with 40lbs and then spent the time I needed for my knees to get the message we were doing the squats. That warm up set was sorely needed as my knees were quite achy and needed the pressure to be ok for the working sets. I was pleased I got 3x8 with the 70lbs weight and no support gear. Spanish squats were a little bit mixed bag. Same as last week with 60 second sets. Hope being that get that first set to feel the burn and improve on that being the other sets. Didn’t end up being the case. I had issues initially with the rain causing my feet to slip with having to put so much pressure to balance. I was worried I’d need to do something else but I remembered my welcome mat and that gave me enough traction for my feet to stop slipping. I didn’t quite get the burn sensation I got last week but it could be that I got used to it. side as well. The last pairing for the day was adjusted. It has been Pendlay rows to start but changing to a different row variation. One arm dumbbell rows. Not super strict but not sloppy style. Sets of 8 reps and I was allowed to use straps. But going sans straps for grip work. I’ve not done these in a good bit and my left biceps was sore from the axle and circus dumbbell. But I did manage to go pretty heavy all things considered here. The other part was the banded single leg extensions still but slight tweak. Sets of 20 reps but the first 10 reps of each set being pauses for 2 seconds. These were fine. My right knee was feeling achy on these. Like a mechanical issue. It probably wasn’t helping matters that it was a really raining heavy and my ankle weights were getting waterlogged. It was good to be done with things and just get dinner done and stuff sorted for this coming week. I continue to be surprised what I can do when I feel like I’ve done what I can from the previous week and yet top that.

October 11, 2025 – Week 6, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x8
155x6
205x4
245x2
275x1
305x3
305x3
305x3
305x3
305x3
305x3

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (left side only)
37x5
49x3
65x3
84x3
97x2
108x2
120x1
140x5
140x5
140x5
140x5

Yoke
200x50’
300x50’
400x50’
EMOM
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’
500x50’

Split Squat Pulses/Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Presses/Ab Wheel
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds – 75’sx12 – bwx10
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds – 75’sx12 – bwx10
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds – 75’sx12 – bwx10

Rower
1000m in 3 minutes 53.30 seconds

Stretching

Comments: It has been a rough week with adjustments to schedule change with work on top of just the general sense of stress/dread with the world. Medical issues with some family members add to that. I was feeling really low energy Friday. Considering how much coughing, sneezing and hacking I hear there, it is probably a good thing that is really all I feel. Why important I got shots before coming in. The past two Saturday’s I’ve trained at home and this one could be maybe done at home but I felt it was best to go out and train. I took Dayquil before bed the night before hoping that would help and I’d feel rested. I was also leery about my right knee feeling a little stiff. I guess one of the positives with having to get up earlier is that me sleeping in only had me 30 minutes behind my usual wake up time for work on the previous schedule so I wasn’t missing out on a lot of day here. Driving out to train was fine. Some people training events and others just doing stuff at the gym. At least when I started. Most doing strongman stuff left by the time I got started actual training. Foam rolling was needed on the lower legs but not as much as it has sometimes needed. But more than it has been this week at least in comparison. It was feeling actual cool in the gym today but I warmed up when I was actually lifting and needed to turn on fans lol. Moved on to the neck rehab stuff and that was good. Not as “releasing” as it has felt other sessions. I was a little uncertain with my shoulders and upper back as they had felt a bit stiff on my left side. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees (and my hips/abs) before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. Then on to training. Still doing the ssb squats with heels elevated and atg style. The setup at the gym is a good bit better than what I was doing at home. The better unrack makes a world of difference. But noticing the weight being added to these on top of the other lower body effort stuff. First week had been low 200’s and now at low 300’s 5 weeks later. Plan was same weight as last week but increasing the volume from 6x2 to 6x3. Shouldn’t be bad. I did same jumps warming up but I did more reps in my warming up to make sure I was feeling good in my knees. There was stiffness in the knee joints but I felt more solid with the base I have here vs at home. Like last week, the first set I had to take a moment to collect myself after the first rep with the pressure and then I seemed to feel better as I went on these. With squats done, it was on to pressing. But a change up here from axle push press. A little relief in that regard as axle push press twice in the same week was getting exhausting. But not actually an easy change here with going to circus dumbbell clean and presses. I’ve not touched a circus dumbbell since March 2023 so looking at over 2.5yrs away from the implement. The reason this is coming into play is due to the shift in contest plan. The show has an odd event for overhead in that it is athlete choice between axle, log or dumbbell. Once you commit to implement, that is what you have to do and reps is the name of the game. Even with not touching circus dumbbell in a good bit compared to other overhead, I figure gamesmanship wise this is the better event for me to get reps and recover from. So this session was to see where I was and find a working weight. Advised for this session to only use my strong side and do it as I would competition style (jerk and not push press). I have my own circus dumbbell at home but figured it was best to use what was here at the gym as likely that will be closer to competition specs anyways. There is a substantial collection here so I ended up weighing all of them minus one that was oversized (didn’t use it) to see what made sense warming up. Things were feeling good for the most part and I was pleased how my leg drive was doing here and catching the weight overhead. Shoulder/traps not quite used to the pressure. All the dumbbells were a bit off weight wise from what was indicated except for my one friend’s dumbbell. I used a normal dumbbell with a fat grip on it as an inbetween weight warming up as well. Plan here was find a good set of 5 reps and do that four times. Didn’t want to mess up like I did that first week doing just 3x5 instead of 4x5. My hope was to use my friend’s dumbbell (120lbs empty) as it looked like the most competition specific. I was prepared for that to be my working weight as I’ve felt like pressing has been down a good bit and last time I did this I got 140x5 at contest when I was feeling strong in training getting reps with 177lbs. 120lbs flew up and I said screw it, going for 140lbs. A bit of jump compared to the warming up I was doing here but that was the dumbbell with end caps on it and I didn’t really want to deal with loading and unloading it with my wrench tighten clamps. 140lbs would be a fantastic place to start. 10lbs under contest (or 20lbs if I come in fat) at 18 weeks out. This is also where Mike Jenkins would start on his Arnold prep when they had the circus dumbbell at like 240ish back then. I got set for the first set and went at it. First two reps felt automatic but the third I definitely showed I was out of practice here and had to pause a bit to get weight settled and then go. Fatigue got me a little and had to set it down rather than touch and go before starting the fourth rep. I was able to touch and go those two but they were tougher. Second set went about as perfect as I could do with my abilities and that had me happy. Getting 5 reps in under 30 seconds is a great pace. Thinking I’d get that on the next set, I had an issue with the first rep with having to pause to get stable and then the lockout was not great and I lost control bringing it back down so couldn’t touch and go. After that hiccup, I did manage to get the other four reps to be like the second set. Last set was apparent fatigue was setting in as lockouts on the first two reps were a little bit tougher and then I didn’t seem to have the first attempt at the third rep racked right and had to do it twice to get it up there. Had to be a bit more deliberate on the remaining two reps to get those without issue. There is big room for improvement here but I’m quite pleased this is the starting point here considering time I have and seemingly in a better spot on this than I was 2.5yrs ago. Another change to the session from here. It has been two supersets that followed the squats and overhead. Not this time. Not done yoke since Worlds at end of August so not that far removed but I wasn’t expecting this much so soon. Not weight wise but just doing 8 sets of 50’ EMOM style. The plan to be getting my legs back into it. I have to hope not much lost here with doing all those damn lunges and such. One of the things that I would be able to check on here was if a split stance start was actually viable. In the past, I’ve not done it as it seemed to not be a power position for me but that was me trying to do it as if I was in the middle of my stride. Having seen that I tend to put one foot slightly in front of the other when I’ve done box jumps and taking with someone about it at the gym that having just a slight stagger could actually be the key. At these weights, it did feel like less a knee ache issue with my start. I got pretty darn sweaty doing these and I was worried I was going to get fatigued. I felt fatigued but I seem to thrive on that and my last run might have actually been my best run. The usual superset that followed here was changed into a triset. Still the split squat pulses introduced last week and the continuing saga of the incline crush presses but adding in ab wheel to that. Quite evil as I know how sore my lower abs will get when I’ve not done them in a bit. Especially coupled with paused pull ups as that tends to make the top abs sore. I’ve done work up/warm up sets with the first two exercises before as kind of breaking in but I kind of felt like I should just plow along here. The split squats were same weight as last time but time increased to 40 seconds. The first set was quite rough on the knees but subsequent sets seemed to be smoother. Left side forward had the back knee aching with supporting role and with right side forward, it that leg got a deep burn feeling. These really sneak up on you over the sets. I was most nervous about the incline considering how last week went. And I was being told to do 75-80lbs here for 12 rep sets. Considering the struggles, I went with 75lbs here. First set was fine but it was tough. Second set was not great. I initially fumbled up getting the weights to the chest and they got locked in a weird position and I had bail and reset. Got a bruise on a finger on the left hand and cut on a finger on the right hand. Thankfully that didn’t impair me from anything. It was a tough second set once I finally got it sorted out and I was wondering how I’d manage a third set. I was a bit more patient with things the third set and it actually felt like the easiest set. Ab wheel wasn’t much to talk about. I did have to adjust things slightly as the knee pad situation wasn’t as good as my home setup and there were times I was sliding due to sweat or fabric friction. This was really exhausting and I had to get some fresh air before the third set as I was retching after the second set. But no puke so all good. The last item for the session was new. Conditioning for conditionings sake. 1000m on a rowing erg. Assuming the gym had one, otherwise I’d have to do a 2 mile bike ride. Not a fan of stationary bikes with my frame/proportions and I don’t have a bike currently for same said reasons. The gym thankfully (not sure I should be thankful haha). I’ve not touched a row erg since I want to say 2017. So I knew this was probably going to suck. Just had to make sure I didn’t just use my arms here. I felt like I was going at quite a good pace the first 100m or so but then started to get tired but I made it through in under 4 minutes. Got a little bit of a second wind when I had about 100m left to go. My hips are going to be sore from these going into that squat position pulling myself in and then extending. Finally able to cool off and drink stuff. Put stuff away and drove back home to stretch. I’m thankful I got a three day weekend to recover before another dumb week.

October 8, 2025 – Week 6, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
116x5
206x3
296x2
346x1
386x1
436x3
436x3
436x3
436x3
436x3

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (24”)
65x6
115x5
165x4
215x3
265x2
315x6
315x6
315x6
315x6

Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps)/Paused Pull Ups (1 second)/Paused Lying Band Leg Curls (2 seconds)
225x5/bwx3 (no pauses)/(2)mmbx1
315x12/bwx8/(2)mmbx20
315x12/bwx7/(2)mmbx20
315x12/bwx6/(2)mmbx20

Sandbag Carries
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’
225x50’

Stretching

Comments: Let me just say I’m not a fan of this in office every day stuff after being able to telework fully longer than the civil war was. My body was definitely stressing out about this leading up and it has been odd with adjusting schedule of things that I could do whenever really. Feeling tired and there is a bit of a sink in energy. I was initially looking forward to the training session but after seeing how long/late it got with Monday session, I was worried about this one as well and making sure I recover and not miss things. Foam rolling to start things and similar to Monday in that not a ton needed but more emphasis on the upper back. Neck rehab stuff fine as well and felt good. Not explicitly indicated this time but I did the calf and tib raises again with some glute activation work as well before doing the stretching for lower body. Felt ok. Stretches seem to feel smoother on this day vs Day 1 and Day 3. Axle deadlifts again. Even though competition will be with a bendy bar and suit, my coach still would like to work in a strength phase with axle to build and this is likely something I need as this is generally popping up as the deadlift at these comps for Natural World’s qualifier stuff. The plan for these was to do 5x3 with 60lbs less than my set of 5 reps last week. So it should be doable. Since doing reps and I was having issues with the axle staying in place I went with the wagon wheels and standing on 4” platform for these erroneously thinking the wheels would be less likely to shift. They were not and it was a bit too late to swap out as I didn’t want to eat up more time. I put crash pads behind them so they wouldn’t roll down the garage. So the good news here is that the axle pressure on the thighs didn’t cause the discomfort I felt last week. So that was a positive. The bad was that this weight felt heavy as shit. Like working up I was thinking oh crap. The video says this wasn’t so bad. You can tell on the last set I was slower but otherwise it didn’t look like how it felt with being heavy and straining. Lower back feeling fatigue and feeling a little bit of sciatic stuff creeping on the right side. I wore the ratchet belt here as didn’t want to risk the other belt coming undone with how these were feeling for me today. It was not the confidence boost I needed with all the rest of the workout to go. Put stuff away and got a few sips in before moving right on to the next thing. Front box squats with the ssb. These had been a concern last week with increasing weight and loading up the legs but things actually felt pretty darn good and I was sure I could do this workout plan with same weight as last week. Going from 4x4 to 4x6. Then I saw how my body reacted to deadlifts and I was worried about these. But I told myself to just gut these out if I could and be done with it. So did the same warming up as last time and keeping an eye on my knees and ability to sit back. These felt at least comfortable for the most part with the unracking but it was a bit tougher moving the weight. As well as keeping the weight on me for a bit longer with the two extra reps per set. But I feel like I got used to that as I went and that I managed to keep things solid and moving here. This was work but it didn’t feel like grinding me to dust tough like deadlifts had been. Trying to move things along for the next things but still making sure that I get fluids in me. The triset continues here. No changes to the bookends of it in regards to the snatch grip Romanian deadlifts or the lying band leg curls other than increase in reps (12 and 20 respectively). Still same weight/band tensions here.  The rdls I was a little leery about as I did feel like there was tension in the left side that was there on Monday with pendlay rows and it was showing up with warming up here but thankfully not present on working sets. I also didn’t have issues with my belt this time around as well so also good. I could tell that these sets were getting tougher as I went but first set was quite strong. Even with things feeling tougher, I’m not feeling like the first week I did them where I felt unconditioned if that makes sense. Pull ups had an adjustment made to them. Back to bodyweight only (yeah) but adding pauses at the top (boo). I know how much doing holds at the top have made my upper abdominals and serratus sore. Told to aim for 6-8 reps here. See how I felt and maybe just do 3x6 if these were god awful. They weren’t as bad as I was expecting but I did find I dropped off a rep each set here and it was challenging. It being cooler/dryer does help with me not being sweaty doing these or needing a fan. The leg curls I did a little testing first to make sure I got the right spot and to make sure I didn’t have things tighten up on me like they did at the end of last week. Adding 5 more reps per set here was a bit rough with pauses and I was kind of surprised that I didn’t see a more drastic drop down in the rdls and subsequent sets of the leg curls. I did end up using the bit by bit counting method on the second and third set of these to keep me distracted. As we all know, this was not the end of the session. As has been the case, sandbag stuff when I’m thoroughly fatigued. Now since the show I’m doing doesn’t have sandbag to shoulder but a carry instead, the over shoulder stuff was just going to be carries. 225lbs for 3-4 sets of 50’. Simple enough. And quite a bit easier to recover from then suplexing the sandbag. But I had a few things going against me. One was that my handtruck is not operable while trying to find wheels that fit the frame. I can only do 50’ straight runs in the street so needed to use my dolly that has a plastic tub on it for some reason to move the bag. It is also quite dark outside and will only get worse as the fall continues and then winter. Did my best to have lights from my house and garage and setup reflective stuff for the course. Lastly, I’m pretty stiff by this point and not exactly moving good so this was not graceful. The one good thing here with this being light and not as taxing meant I could take like 90 seconds rest and be raring to go. Which meant I could and did so that I could hopefully get this all done sooner and get to eating, stretching, washing and sleeping. First set was the worst of them and I’d say the third set was the best. I did even sets so that I had less distance to bring the bag back inside. But these were easy enough. Just really fatigued with the picking up part of things. Finally done and put stuff away before eating another late dinner.

October 6, 2025 – Week 6, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Push Presses (4 second eccentrics)
26x5
56x3
86x2
116x2
146x2
176x2
206x5
206x5
206x5
206x5
206x5 (missed 5th rep twice, had to rerack to get it)

Breathing Pause 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (2 second eccentrics)
90x3
120x3
150x3
180x6
180x6
180x6
180x6

Alternating + Together Dumbbell Floor Presses
70’sx8(1/1/1)
70’sx8(1/1/1)
70’sx8(1/1/1)
70’sx8(1/1/1)

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Dumbbell Presses/Assisted Spanish Squats
bwx5
55x12/12 – bwx60 seconds
55x12/12 – bwx60 seconds
55x12/12 – bwx60 seconds

Deadstop Pendlay Rows/Band Single Leg Seated Leg Extensions
135x6 
205x12 -- mb+10x25/25
205x12 -- mb+10x25/25
205x12 -- mb+10x25/25

Stretching

Comments: Weight back up a little. Had to get myself prepped for having to commute to office every day this month. Have to go to bed and hour earlier to get up an hour earlier so I can get to work on time. I did pull the trigger on signing up for a competition in February in Arizona. Just wasn’t vibing with the New Jersey natural show events and I’d rather do something interesting and fun. Will also be able to have it be a family trip so that is also a plus. Trying to travel a little more with how I liked the PNW and Ireland. I did not enjoy work having to go in and then come back. Diet has to be adjusted for ease during this month and I felt a little tired at end of the day but perked up when I got home so that was good. Really needed to get through the training and hopefully have it not be terribly late. The left thigh thing not sure but it seems to be less sensitive and pronounced. Foam rolling was needed after work. Not a ton per se on the lower legs but definitely for the upper back. Neck rehab stuff followed that up and then did some stuff for ankles and knees before doing lower body stretching followed by a dead hang. Push pressing with axle again. This session being  eccentric accentuation style. I was kind of hoping more weight and less reps/sets but nope. Same weight as last time but doing 5x5 with the 4 second eccentrics. I know how much tougher an extra rep makes on things with tempo modifiers. I had been quite worked on Saturday with the paused push presses with that going from 12 reps to 25 reps. This was going to be 50 reps at working weight over 200lbs (my top sets of 5 at RPE 7-8 at start of off season). This was potentially a big ask for recovery. I had felt joints were a bit achy Saturday with my knees. They were achy today but I did still feel like I had good power. At least it didn’t feel super terrible like I made a big mistake when I did get to the working weight. It did feel a bit like it did last time where I was worried I was taking too big a bite to chew. A positive from last week is that I didn’t feel like I was getting the tendon irritation from the eccentrics in either shoulder. I had some really good strung together reps on the third set at the beginning where I was pretty much able to go instantly from the eccentric into the next rep but did need to take a momentary pause after the first three to ensure rep quality. I also feel like I didn’t have nearly as many reps where I felt that I was going backwards. But I did notice that I was feeling like balance was tough as I went so possible fatigue from the big pressing Saturday as well as ever increasing weight on squats. Last set is where I hit a road block. First four reps were much like the previous set but then I just biffed it on the last rep and it went out in front of me and I couldn’t recover to get under it to lock out. I tried again but same result so I had to rack it. I took a few moments to collect myself before getting the bar back on my shoulders and getting a tougher than I’d like press to finish out the set. Not ideal to have two misses at a rep. I’d have been really beside myself if I did miss that rep on the third try to be sure. I know that my axle prescription is being adjusted with the planned competitions overhead event so hopefully things can recover a little bit. With that fatigue in mind, moving on to the breathing pause log stuff. Same as last time with it being the two second eccentrics and breathing pause. Same weight as last time but now 4x6. I realized that with how the reps got a lot tougher after the first 3-4 reps that I’d likely need to use rest periods closer to what I’ve been doing for the eccentric focus stuff rather than my usual rests. I was a little leery with these because they had gotten quite tough by the end last week and I was feeling like my shoulders were even more toasted this time around. Having had not the best incline stuff on Saturday followed by the having to do a triple take to get last rep of axle I wasn’t sure these would go well for me. But sometimes the body is a liar and you have to push on. I did the same jumps as last time here as I did with axle and that seemed to be fine. First set was ok but not confidence building. Fatigue was noticed on the second set. Not sure with the third set as it felt like I got a second wind at the start but definitely let me know on the last rep that this last set would be a close one like last time. It was and the last rep was a grinder that went a little sideways but it was done. Really been pushing the envelope on the pressing this offseason. Not so much that I’m overtraining, more that I’m not as conditioned here as I should to have the base to recover for the higher intensity stuff. Moving right along into the garage for more pressing. Alternating floor presses with dumbbells like last week with it being 3 parts to equal 1 rep. I was prepared to go up in weight on these after last week but with how the axle and log had me feeling today at the end, I was fine with things staying the same weight but just more sets. So an extra set from last time. This was an interesting one this time around as I was not terribly coordinated last week here. This time around it was moving quite smoothly and I had these feeling pretty good with just slowdown at the end of the sets. So considering how dumbbell stuff felt Saturday and how other pressing leading up was feeling, quite surprised how well this went. Moving on to the supersets. So as the same as last week with half kneeling presses to start as it has been. Bumping reps back up to 12 and told to do 50-55lbs here. Despite my better judgement with how everything besides the floor pressing was exhausting and being struggle bus, I went with 55lbs here. I’ve done about 30lbs heavier on these a few years back so I know this isn’t my limit and it’s not supposed to be. This is building. But I knew it was probably going to be challenging after about 140 reps of working set pressing before this time in the night. This was the toughest this has been and I could really feel myself bracing to have a stable base on these. Left side had my one ugly rep where I lost tightness and the dumbbell started rotating out of neutral grip position. Been a good while since I’ve had that happen on these. But definitely hit the fatigue limit on these as well. I don’t know if I need to just keep pushing on through or having things pull back a little for recovery. The Spanish squats being the other half of this. Two sessions ago I finally got these stupid things to click on the last set and got them to be even better last week after having to kind of get things to loose up in my knees and ankles to allow myself to be able to do them. I knew that was likely going to be the case with how they were feeling on Saturday and from being in the office. I did some practice reps and adjusting footwear and stance and even then I wasn’t quite ready when it was time to do the sets. I had lamented about having a more time so that it would feel right longer since it seems I need to do a rep or so for things to be moving right. A minute for the sets this time. I was a little tentative that first set a few reps before things finally relaxed and I could do the motion like I should. Second set it was almost immediate and I finally got that “deep burn” in my right quad that I was expecting to finally happen. Last set the burn was there pretty quick and was finally getting into the left side as well. Lactic acid did slow me down from my pace.  But hey, finally cooking with gas here, even if this is the most regressed it can be variation on these. One last superset to end the night. Pendlay rows as per usual. Same weight as last time but increasing reps to 12. Like last week, a little bit of knee aches to get into position but better as I went and feeling tension in the hamstrings (more so the left leg). These felt better position wise as I went and could tell that the reps are adding up with fatigue. The other part was the banded single leg extensions. Sets of 25 reps this time around. The setup from last week I did again with the ankle weights to anchor the mini bands. I also moved the table out a little further so more tension compared to last week as well. These were fine. Could feel/hear my right knee clicking. No pain on these. They feel a bit like active rest compared to most things I do. Put stuff away while my dinner was finishing up. Stretched and cleaned up before bed. This is going to suck for a month with Monday and Wednesday workouts I can tell.