December 30, 2025 – Week 18, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Push Presses/Vertical Jumps
26x8/bwx3
56x5/bwx3
86x3/bwx3
116x2/bwx1
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3
146x3/bwx3

Alternating Dumbbell Bench Presses/Horizontal Jumps
40’sx8/8 -- bwx4
40’sx8/8 -- bwx4
40’sx8/8 -- bwx4

Banded Triceps Extensions/Jump Lunges
abx15 – bwx5/5
abx15 – bwx5/5
abx15 – bwx5/5

Stretching

Comments: I did not feel well. Not like I was sick (though I have residual mucus/phlegm that I’ll probably have until spring now) but my body just felt off and achy and my mind didn’t want to really be thinking about strongman or strength training stuff. I do not like it how I seem to spiral downward rapidly when something feels off. I know this happens and but I know that remedy tends to be time and rest. I did nothing after I got back Saturday and Sunday I also did nothing. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough time to recovery from this and I was still feeling very much like I didn’t want to train on Monday in any fashion. I was considering throwing the baby out with the bathwater about not being good enough/strong enough/recovering enough that I’ve been able to stave off since middle of August (even day of competing at World’s feeling). I thought I was getting enough rest and eating enough (I apparently got under 254lbs this weigh-in some how, I mean I ate like a third of a turkey Christmas). I feel like it was a combo of going too hard on stones with overestimating what I could do at RPE 8 and then topping that off with the suited pulls being also overestimated what I should be doing with an ill-fitting suit for grinding lifts. Thankfully Ms. Funk messaged me before sending programming to ask how I was feeling as I had stopped the Saturday workout early (like I had done the week before World’s) and seeing I felt I needed a deload (though not recommended at this stage). I said that I’d like to say I don’t but I need one now and like yesterday. I felt like not training and that isn’t a great sign when usually that is the thing I look forward to most days.  So plan change to deload and then push it the last four weeks we got left for the show. So Monday I also took off as the training was a bit different and I had the time to mess around with having half day Wednesday and off Thursday for New Year’s. Weather was odd Monday as it was up to 50 and windy then some precipitation and getting below freezing. So I didn’t really want to deal with all of that and chance anything with my body feeling off. Upper back still feeling tense from Wednesday, left elbow soreness, right knee aches and my right hip feeling almost locked at times. The deload was a bit different from what I was expecting. Then again, I’ve only really had the one deload with Ms. Funk and that had been more a volume deload and then a real deload week of. As she mentioned, still figuring each other out here. Tuesday unfortunately was a cold and windy evening (below freezing). Also did not help that my backyard light was on the fritz and used what I had to illuminate things back there as best I could. But before that, I had to warm myself up. Soft tissue work to start and while I didn’t need a ton on my upper legs and upper back, my calves needed a ton of it to feel good to go. Neck rehab stuff followed. This was ok (didn’t feel as good as Saturday session) and went on to stretches for hips, knees, ankles and hamstrings. Did a dead hang as well before going on to train in the cold, windy darkness. This was a bit interesting a change up for me. Everything was supersetted with the pairings being an upper body based exercise with a bounding exercise. Light/explosive with the upper body stuff and bodyweight for the jumps. The upper body stuff no sweat but I was not sure how jumping would go. 30 degrees and windy at night when already feeling achy joints. First pairing was going to be the most work/effort and that was axle out of the rack (as usual) and paired with vertical jumps. I was initially looking at doing the axle stuff up to the working weight and then add in the jumps since the plan was 8 sets of each for 3 reps. But I figured I needed to do jumps to get used to them as my body felt really stiff and I was not really getting much air on my hops here at the start. Eventually I felt less weighed down and achy. I kept my warm-ups on as it was really cold. I was even considering wearing my gloves the entire time as well. No support gear here as well. These felt better as I went for the most part. So this was done and into the garage for the second pairing of the evening. This was alternating dumbbell bench presses and horizontal jumps. I was initially thinking about doing these in the street or in the backyard since the ground was frozen but it seemed risky and longer setup which would also mean more rest between exercises and I was trying to keep these short. Doing the benching like I did with the alternating style for floor presses. I was also stiff on the jumps here at the start. I’ve done less bounding going forward vs up with strongman stuff. Even in high school not a lot of jumping forward as volleyball you want up. The pressing felt off at first but got better as I went. Only three sets for these. The jumps I felt I got them right the first half of the second set and then my knee started aching on me and I kind of stagger stepped the remaining reps. So that wasn’t ideal. Last superset I went back outside. I was a bit warmer now from keeping the warm ups on for the previous exercises in the garage. This was just some band extensions and then paired with jump lunges. I think I did these right. But essentially triceps press downs with band then jumping from split stance and switching the stance. Height and springiness had been with the first jumps and distance the second jumps. These were to be height focused. My occasional lack of body awareness and coordination led to me landing funny on the fifth rep for my right foot and ankle kind of went on me. I got up and nothing felt out of sorts and resumed to finish up the set. I was surprised no pain came swarming into my ankle after that so knock on wood I guess that it is fine and dandy. The triceps part was pretty standard. Put stuff away and cooked up dinner and stretched before bed. Hopefully this week gets me back on track.