Poundage Progression - Brooks Kubik
8 hours ago
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
October 17, 2017 – Week 10, Day 1
5 Minutes Percor AMT
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
12” Log Clean and Push Presses (one clean)
90x5
120x3
150x1
175x1
200x1
225x1
250x1
275x1
Chest Supported Rows (1 second holds)
150x5
190x5
240x5
280x5
320x5
Bench Presses
45x10
95x3
135x3
170x2
205x2
245x2
280x2
320x2
Narrow Grip
2305x5
Band Triceps Pressdowns
SBx30
SBx30
Stretching
Comments: Wasn’t feel too beat from event work on Saturday other than my biceps feeling a little tender still. Day of training was a different story. Just felt aches in the old injury sights. Might be due to the weather changing from almost Summer conditions to cold enough the night before for frost to form. Just guessing really. Warmed up on the AMT. Topped out at 153bpm. Calf raise work after that. Felt alright, no real issues. Easier than it felt all last week. Box touches were alright as well. Some knee tenderness in the right knee but only on the first few reps of the regular style. I was expecting my hip to ache on the these but they didn’t so that was good. Knees ached a bit on the squat therapy but got better as the set went on. Just kept working the form until everything felt good. Hip airplanes were alright. Felt like my balance was a little off at the start but no issues with any of the reps. Band rows and biceps stretch after that. Rows were easy, trying to get the back ready for work to come. Biceps definitely needed the stretch. A set of push-ups to finish off the light stuff. Less effort required than Saturday so that is good. Much like Saturday’s workout, some changes made. Initially this was going to be work up to a top double on bench with supplemental work but determination was more log focus is needed for the show (will also show up in later workouts). So another week of log work. Plan being to work up to a very conservative 1rm on clean and push press. My jerk gets ugly over 250lbs and I get the log too far forward and end up pressing out anyways. So trying to see if push press does the trick. I did a few more reps than I have been doing to warm-up before taking the planned jumps in weight. Wanted to make sure the form was there today. I got a little lightheaded on the last rep with 120lbs so I lost my balance. Not sure what happened there but just got to shake it off and keep pushing forward. Also trying to be conscious of not over doing the initial dip for lower body drive as that is where I get the issue of the log going away from me ever so slightly. The cleans today were not the best. I think the heavy frame and stone of steel may have contributed to that. Perhaps I was pulling as hard into my body due to the biceps as well. I bobbled 250lbs on the dip and it went out in front of me a bit. I really didn’t want to end it there as that is not much more than my conservative strict press from this cycle. I knew if I got the form right with the next jump, it should go up easier. Clean felt harder but the press was cake (other than that crushing sensation on my chest). Hopefully that is something to consider a very conservative max (had to pump the breaks). Granted the most of purely push pressed this cycle on log (and all-time I guess) is 300lbs but I know I good for a lot more. On to static hold chest supported rows. 5rm for this time. Plate-quarter-plate jumps again as I wanted to try for 20lbs more than last time and to match contest weight for log. I was very cautious on the start of each set to make sure it didn’t bother the biceps. Didn’t want to tweak something this close. Thankfully, no issues. But man was that top weight hard to do the holds with. Toughest thing with this style of row. Then on to bench pressing. Warmed up before going for the set percentages for doubles. Not a max double like originally planned a decent weight. Moved pretty quick through these up until the second to last double. Felt a little slower than the rest so I made sure I had a spotter for the last set just in case. If everything was fine, I shouldn’t need one but better to be safe than sorry. First rep was a little slow but the second rep felt like a speed rep. So happy with that rep haha. Then took a plate off each side for the closer grip work. Controlled eccentric with a fast concentric. Finished up with band triceps. Had to rig something up as the power rack was in use so I did the barbell on top of the cable station setup again. These felt good after the other work. Home to stretch and eat.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
October 14, 2017 – Week 9, Day 3
5 Minutes Concept 2 Rower
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
I-Beam Frame Deadlifts
Farmer’s Handles (15”)
95x10
195x5
Frame (16”)
280x1
370x1
460x1
550x1
Added Straps
640x1
Frame (19”)
700x1
740x1
780x1
Stone of Steel Over Bar (57”)
138x1
176x1
201x1
225x1
247x1
265.5x1
284.5x1
355x5
Vehicle Push
2,693lbs + 1 person + 262lbs in trunkx225’7” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Another one of those workouts where I was both excited and nervous. More heavy frame deadlift and stone of steel on the agenda. Spirit willing but uncertain about the body holding up. Knees were aching like crazy during the previous workout this week. Body really just plain beat from that all-out effort on log press. Right biceps still tender from being stupid lazy with the sandbags from last weekend. I also had an interesting morning trying to load a husafel stone into my trunk by myself. I wore a copper infused (have no idea if that even does anything) compression sleeve on my right arm to keep it warm. Out to Lancaster for training. Warmed up on the rower. Didn’t realize until about a minute in that the timer wasn’t going (battery not working) so I had time from my watch haha. I may or may not have been distracted seeing George get the top of the yoke caught on the doorway taking it outside. Calf work was better than it had been the rest of this week. Box touches were pretty good. Squat therapy was good too. No knee aches but hips and lower back felt tight. Hip airplanes felt great too. Band rows and stretching followed. Arms pretty tight for the stretching, really needed to make sure the biceps were good to go. Set of push-ups to finish things up. More effort than I would have liked but it happens. Then frame deadlifts. Trap bar and the I-beam handles were in use so I had to make some changes. I used the other farmer’s walk handles with light bumper plates and the connectors. Back of the handles grip right from the start. Felt ok. Then had to wait a little bit to use the actual frame setup. Plan had been changed after last session. Originally the goal was a top single from the contest height. But I kind of did that last time and I’m still a ways off from contest weight. So adjustment made with the goal to start being up to 90% of my best and then have a little “fun” from there. Every lift felt slow and heavy working up. Felt like it was 50lbs heavier than it actually was. That last single from the floor might have been my last single for the day with how I was feeling. But the workout wasn’t done with the frame. Raised the frame up 3” more and then the goal here was a top single, aiming for 1-3 singles. With how heavy my last single from the contest height felt, I went for a lighter weight than I had been planning/ fantasizing. I went with 700lbs for that first single as I think that was the minimum I would accept without going home and crying myself to sleep haha. The extra height in the pull certainly had me trying to figure out how to get my position right and figuring out the slack in the straps. It felt stupid heavy but I knew that not everything was right and I probably had a little more in the tank. So I added weight to get it about 90% of contest weight. A bit slower but I felt like I had good power and felt fine at lockout. George said I looked like I was hesitating. I told him that I was just slow off the floor and that is my struggle. I wanted to try one more. I was thinking 30lbs but decided on another 40lbs jump so that I have the option to go for 800lbs next time if I got this single. Got everything tight (body, straps and belt) and pulled. A lot effort but it went up. This was the only set of the day where I felt everything clicked and was on point. I think if I felt like this from the start, 800lbs would have gone. Stone of steel after that. Same as last time with the working up in weight. No grip aids of any kind up to a decent single and then contest gear for the big heavy set. Right biceps I had to keep an eye on that so I wasn’t trying to go full bore as I was monitoring how things felt on every rep. I didn’t feel like making a big jump from last time with the “naked” lift so I had some in-between lifts. Brought my scale to weigh things as I didn’t know how these plate combinations would turnout. I definitely feel good for more without grip support so that is good. Then on to the top set. My choice of 10-25lbs more than last time and aiming for only a set of five. Of course, even with the biceps acting up, I was going heaviest option. Of course, getting really nervous and amped for that set. First rep dictates the set and my mental state. Felt heavy but doable and I was happy with how easy it went up and over. I knew I had the reps as long as I didn’t get an injury. Even with the sore and tight lower back. Took my time, no rush. This weight is a bear to roll back by myself as it really sinks into the crash mat. But it’s good for me. I got three reps in under a minute taking my time so that is good. Definitely was getting hard to get that extension with this weight. Last set I maybe didn’t get as strong as a grip picking in up off the ground as my one hand felt like it was going to slip but it didn’t. Again, happy with this. Put away all the weights and then home to push my car with weights in the trunk. I added more weights and I had more gas in the tank this time (it was almost empty last time). It had rained the night before and was still damp so there were spots where it was hard to gain purchase of the road with my shoes. I had the most issues with the start and at the end with about 15 seconds left. Still a good effort. Stretched out well and then out to dinner for good food with family and then home to take ibuprofen so my knees would shut up and get some sleep.
Friday, October 13, 2017
October 12, 2017 – Week 9, Day 2
5 Minutes Percor AMT
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
16” Front Box Squats
45x10
95x5
145x3
185x2
225x1
265x3
265x3
265x3
Crunches
BWx30
Leg Raises
BWx30
Stretching
Comments: Probably the least intense workout of the training cycle besides maybe the deload week stuff. I didn’t feel to beat up last time I did this workout but I certainly did this time. I put a lot into getting that log press last workout. Triceps beat from the session still. Right biceps still a little tender from trying to move that sandbag last weekend. Lower back tense and sore. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate up to 153bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tougher than last session. Box touches with both styles felt good. On to squat therapy. Pretty good on the knees. Felt though to get the upper back to stay in the best position but I expected it a little after the log press and row stuff. Hip airplanes were pretty good too on both sides. Band rows and biceps stretch followed. Trying to get the biceps to relax. Only exercise with weights for today was front squat box squats as has been the case past few trainings. Still working on theoretical maxes on how I feel on the day. Just easier to keep adding 20lbs each time as it feels to be doing well based off of what an expected max would be. Not the best session. All my joints ached and everything felt heavy. Definitely caught myself lowering some reps too fast on warm-ups. Everything felt tight. Felt slow off the box with the heavier sets. Thankfully only three triples this time. Still doing EOMOM for the rest. Went right into the easy abdominal stuff. Crunches felt good and so did the leg raises. Perhaps not as much relief as I would have liked with the lower back but it will have to do for now.
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
16” Front Box Squats
45x10
95x5
145x3
185x2
225x1
265x3
265x3
265x3
Crunches
BWx30
Leg Raises
BWx30
Stretching
Comments: Probably the least intense workout of the training cycle besides maybe the deload week stuff. I didn’t feel to beat up last time I did this workout but I certainly did this time. I put a lot into getting that log press last workout. Triceps beat from the session still. Right biceps still a little tender from trying to move that sandbag last weekend. Lower back tense and sore. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate up to 153bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tougher than last session. Box touches with both styles felt good. On to squat therapy. Pretty good on the knees. Felt though to get the upper back to stay in the best position but I expected it a little after the log press and row stuff. Hip airplanes were pretty good too on both sides. Band rows and biceps stretch followed. Trying to get the biceps to relax. Only exercise with weights for today was front squat box squats as has been the case past few trainings. Still working on theoretical maxes on how I feel on the day. Just easier to keep adding 20lbs each time as it feels to be doing well based off of what an expected max would be. Not the best session. All my joints ached and everything felt heavy. Definitely caught myself lowering some reps too fast on warm-ups. Everything felt tight. Felt slow off the box with the heavier sets. Thankfully only three triples this time. Still doing EOMOM for the rest. Went right into the easy abdominal stuff. Crunches felt good and so did the leg raises. Perhaps not as much relief as I would have liked with the lower back but it will have to do for now.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
October 10, 2017 – Week 9, Day 1
5 Minutes Percor AMT
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
12” Log Clean and Press
Clean + Push Press + Jerk
110x1+1
140x1+1
170x1+1
200x1+1
230x1+1
Clean and Jerks
260x1
290x1
320x0
320x1 PR+10lbs
Clean and Jerks (one clean)
255x4
Chest Supported Rows
200x5
250x5
300x5
350x5
400x5 PR+20lbs
Band Resisted Push-ups
No Bands
BWx15
Add Bands & Chains
SB+11cx16
SB+11cx14
SB+11cx10
Band Triceps Pressdowns
SBx30
SBx30
Stretching
Comments: Event training on Saturday wrecked me. I slept until almost noon on Sunday and ended up going to bed before 10 without dinner. Very happy that I had Monday off to readjust to normal hours again haha. Lower back was tight and knees ached. New bruises as well. Felt stressed all day, not sure if work or just thinking about going for a heavy log press max. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 159bpm. Trying to get my strides per minute up. Calf raise work after that. Best these have felt in a while. Box touches felt good both styles. Some hip joint ache on the regular style, nothing on the wide. Squat therapy went well. No knee aches here. Hip air planes were also good. No real balance issues. Band rows felt good. Biceps were still feeling the effort from the sandbag rows so made sure I got a good stretch. Push-ups to finish off the stuff before the weights. Tougher than they felt on Saturday but still ok. On to log work. Plan for this workout being to work up to a top single. Still not certain if push press or jerk. So plan was to do both for a bit and then go with the one that felt best today. 30lbs jumps between sets so I had to pick what I wanted to hit at the end of the session and go backwards from there. The contingency on the two part overhead was up to 250lbs. I was debating on going for just 5lbs or 10lbs. I eventually went for 10lbs to try for 320lbs as the top set as the numbers worked out better overall. Honestly, both styles felt good and I only went with jerks after that point with it feeling slightly faster. I put on belt and other support gear earlier than I usually would to make sure I got used to the breathing and seeing how it affecting my lift. 290lbs felt hard but didn’t look that bad on video. I could always just go for 315lbs. But I’m stubborn so I just went for 320lbs. Clean felt good but I missed the press. I was actually surprised that I missed it with how it felt on my shoulders. My body just doesn’t want to cooperate. I sat down for a while after that attempt and contemplated everything. If I should still go to Nationals, if I should keep doing strongman. A lot of effort into that missed attempt. I was sweating profusely (arms, face, legs) and had to wipe it off. But stubbornness prevailed. I decided, hey, that didn’t feel so heavy on the chest and I already got a miss out of the way so no worries. Probably not a smart decision but I went with it. Clean felt just as good but this time the weight didn’t come crashing back down. Barely got the lift. Left side was locked out, right side soft lockout. If it was a contest, I wouldn’t give it to myself. I was so fatigued mentally that I didn’t even show any excitement getting the lift. I was mostly disgusted (and light heated, had to grab the nearby power rack to recover). I don’t think I will be happy with it until I get it clean. Almost like a spotter on bench touching it. But it is great that I’ve hit a lifetime PR on log after dealing with this injury but I still have a long way to go. Down set with 80% of that single. This sucked. Plan was 3-5 reps. I had nothing left. I’m notoriously terrible at reps from the chest on log. I don’t even know if these were jerks or just me trying to walk under the log with some heaving involved. Just dead. Managed four ugly, ugly reps. Couldn’t be happier moving on to chest supported rows. It was already going to be a late night and I had already decided I was just getting burritos for dinner. Continuing with the theme of working up over five sets to a top set. This session being a 5rm. I wanted 400lbs and I was going to get it. 50lbs jumps so the math was easy. Still watching the biceps and no issues there. Good, explosive reps up to 350lbs. Slowed down a bit there. Then Band push-ups after that. Forgot the average band so I had to jump right into the heavy stuff after a light refresher set of regular push-ups. This time three max rep sets. Strong band plus a chain around my neck. Chain kept ringing in my ears but good effort here. Just obliterated my chest. Ended the day with band pressdowns. Finally figured out how to do these without the excess band hitting me in the junk. Not saying I deserved a MacArthur Genius Grant for it but I’d welcome it haha. Both sets were good. I was beat and don’t want to think about lifting for a while. Home to stretch and eat recovery burritos.
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
12” Log Clean and Press
Clean + Push Press + Jerk
110x1+1
140x1+1
170x1+1
200x1+1
230x1+1
Clean and Jerks
260x1
290x1
320x0
320x1 PR+10lbs
Clean and Jerks (one clean)
255x4
Chest Supported Rows
200x5
250x5
300x5
350x5
400x5 PR+20lbs
Band Resisted Push-ups
No Bands
BWx15
Add Bands & Chains
SB+11cx16
SB+11cx14
SB+11cx10
Band Triceps Pressdowns
SBx30
SBx30
Stretching
Comments: Event training on Saturday wrecked me. I slept until almost noon on Sunday and ended up going to bed before 10 without dinner. Very happy that I had Monday off to readjust to normal hours again haha. Lower back was tight and knees ached. New bruises as well. Felt stressed all day, not sure if work or just thinking about going for a heavy log press max. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 159bpm. Trying to get my strides per minute up. Calf raise work after that. Best these have felt in a while. Box touches felt good both styles. Some hip joint ache on the regular style, nothing on the wide. Squat therapy went well. No knee aches here. Hip air planes were also good. No real balance issues. Band rows felt good. Biceps were still feeling the effort from the sandbag rows so made sure I got a good stretch. Push-ups to finish off the stuff before the weights. Tougher than they felt on Saturday but still ok. On to log work. Plan for this workout being to work up to a top single. Still not certain if push press or jerk. So plan was to do both for a bit and then go with the one that felt best today. 30lbs jumps between sets so I had to pick what I wanted to hit at the end of the session and go backwards from there. The contingency on the two part overhead was up to 250lbs. I was debating on going for just 5lbs or 10lbs. I eventually went for 10lbs to try for 320lbs as the top set as the numbers worked out better overall. Honestly, both styles felt good and I only went with jerks after that point with it feeling slightly faster. I put on belt and other support gear earlier than I usually would to make sure I got used to the breathing and seeing how it affecting my lift. 290lbs felt hard but didn’t look that bad on video. I could always just go for 315lbs. But I’m stubborn so I just went for 320lbs. Clean felt good but I missed the press. I was actually surprised that I missed it with how it felt on my shoulders. My body just doesn’t want to cooperate. I sat down for a while after that attempt and contemplated everything. If I should still go to Nationals, if I should keep doing strongman. A lot of effort into that missed attempt. I was sweating profusely (arms, face, legs) and had to wipe it off. But stubbornness prevailed. I decided, hey, that didn’t feel so heavy on the chest and I already got a miss out of the way so no worries. Probably not a smart decision but I went with it. Clean felt just as good but this time the weight didn’t come crashing back down. Barely got the lift. Left side was locked out, right side soft lockout. If it was a contest, I wouldn’t give it to myself. I was so fatigued mentally that I didn’t even show any excitement getting the lift. I was mostly disgusted (and light heated, had to grab the nearby power rack to recover). I don’t think I will be happy with it until I get it clean. Almost like a spotter on bench touching it. But it is great that I’ve hit a lifetime PR on log after dealing with this injury but I still have a long way to go. Down set with 80% of that single. This sucked. Plan was 3-5 reps. I had nothing left. I’m notoriously terrible at reps from the chest on log. I don’t even know if these were jerks or just me trying to walk under the log with some heaving involved. Just dead. Managed four ugly, ugly reps. Couldn’t be happier moving on to chest supported rows. It was already going to be a late night and I had already decided I was just getting burritos for dinner. Continuing with the theme of working up over five sets to a top set. This session being a 5rm. I wanted 400lbs and I was going to get it. 50lbs jumps so the math was easy. Still watching the biceps and no issues there. Good, explosive reps up to 350lbs. Slowed down a bit there. Then Band push-ups after that. Forgot the average band so I had to jump right into the heavy stuff after a light refresher set of regular push-ups. This time three max rep sets. Strong band plus a chain around my neck. Chain kept ringing in my ears but good effort here. Just obliterated my chest. Ended the day with band pressdowns. Finally figured out how to do these without the excess band hitting me in the junk. Not saying I deserved a MacArthur Genius Grant for it but I’d welcome it haha. Both sets were good. I was beat and don’t want to think about lifting for a while. Home to stretch and eat recovery burritos.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
October 7, 2017 – Week 8, Day 3
5 Minutes Concept 2 Rower
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
Yoke/I-Beam Farmer’s Walk Medleys
y-300x100’ in 10.79 seconds
500x30’/122x30’ in 11.26 seconds
600x30’/200x30’ in 12.28 seconds
700x30’/260x30’ in 14.57 seconds
y-750xpick
800x60’/320x60’ in 31.30 seconds
Sandbag Rows
150x5
200x5
275x6 PR+10lbs
H-Stone Carry (off platform)
Turns at 30’
303x60’
353x60’
Turns at 60’
403x166’10”
Sled Drags
405x192’4” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Definitely feeling the heavy box squats and lack of sleep upon waking. Work stress with current and future demands leaving little time to think when not at home. Lots of things to get thru today so no time to waste. Out to Lancaster to training event work. Apparently cool enough at the gym that they didn’t have the big industrial fan on. Meant I was going to be a sweaty mess so good thing I packed a towel and three shirts. George Pearson was there training for Master’s World’s Strongest Man in December. Haven’t seen him since May 2015 at the Kumite show. Warmed up on the rower. Felt pretty easy at the start but then got back to normal difficulty about halfway thru haha. Calf work was okay and the box touches for both styles were good. Squat therapy I was little achy but still pretty good. Hip airplanes were pretty good as well. Band rows and stretching followed. Easy one rows. Biceps were really tight so this was good on the stretch. Set of push-ups to finish things up. Felt pretty easy this time. Upper back on the left side was feeling sore and tight. A little worried with how heavy event work would feel. Medley work for Nationals with yoke and farmer’s walks. As I found out last week after weighing the implements, I found the farmer’s walk handles were 2.5lbs lighter than I thought they were and the yoke was 3lbs more than the lightest I thought it was. So I had to make some adjustments. The first set warm-up stayed the same. Fastest I’ve done it so far so that was good sign. No issues with the upper back but goodness was my lower body feeling like someone took a hammer to it. Lower back and hips were feeling it haha. Then setup half distance course again with both implements. Weight increased by 100lbs on the yoke compared to the last two times while farmer’s stayed about the same. I felt pretty good on the speed with the yoke despite the jump in weight. Times were at most a second slower compared to last time but again, yoke much heavier on each warm-up set. The second to last set of farmer’s walk, I rushed the setup as I gripped on handle in the middle while the other was towards the back. Felt weird but I powered thru it. Before the last set, another change made. Pick with a weight in-between the previous set and last set. It felt heavy. I was a little worried going into this last set. Brian I think said something about this is big time weights and I said something like I have to do it first. George then said that there should be no doubt and just do it. Helped me get my head on straight. Pick with 800lbs felt better than the previous weight and I felt I was movng pretty well until about halfway. Better transition into the farmer’s walk handles. These were a bear to pick up. Those handles rotating in my hands just suck. Much like yoke, once I was up and moving it was going well but again, I slowed down about halfway as I was trying to keep my grip secure. But I finished with no drops. About 3 seconds slower compared to last time but still good. I was pretty wiped from that but I still had a lot to go through still. Sandbag rows after that. Slight change in that the warm-ups to the top set were all sets of five so I could go a little heavier on those sets. The sandbags were all in a pile and the one I wanted for the first set was near the back. I tried to pull it out but that ended up being more of a hassle and my right biceps started to not like that. So I ended up being a little tentative with my reps on those first two sets. Last set, I wanted to go for another big increase. Compared to last time, just felt heavy and awkward. I should have re-read my training plan for today as I was only supposed to do five but did six. I’ll make sure I go for just five next time. Soft belt popped off one of the straps mid-set. And that was going to end up being a theme the rest of the day. Husafel stone again. A fairly big change on this one. Previously all sets were for max distance. This time, the two work up set were just for 60’ with turns at 30’ and only the last set being a max distance run. Working on the peak at this point. Hopefully a changeup that will lead to further improvements. I had gotten some more clarification on the husafel carry for Nats in that no grip aids (gloves, sleeves or tape) will be allowed as it is rubberized. Brian also had a chance to try one with very little weight in it and he said that my staggered grip might not work with how the lead shot shifts. I’ve trained with lead shot loaded husafel before so I don’t think it will be a factor but I figured it would be worth a shot to try this stuff out now rather than day of. Husafel came out 3lbs more than I had been using but it wasn’t worth it trying to get the exact weight so just did it with the extra 3lbs as I have been doing this whole cycle. First set I did front carry style. Yeah, that sucked. I was slow and felt like it was going to drop the entire time. Looking at the video, I probably should have bumped it up my body more so that I could a get a better grip. The next set, I went back to my stagger style grip. This thing is still pretty slick so I still moved much quicker compared to the previous set I didn’t feel as secured as I usually do. For the last set, I wrapped up with tape on the forearms and gloves. They won’t be allowed at the show but to get the most out of training on this one, I feel they are necessary. I’m certain I will get a pretty good grip with the rubber coating and chalk. Tape also keeps the bruising down on my forearm that gets painful. I felt like everything would go well for this last set but it did not. I was moving well but I felt my grip on my bottom hand already feeling compromised before I made it down one length. Well short of my best and even of my worst this training cycle. My forearms and grip had been feeling good after the deep tissue massage earlier this week. Felt disgusted with it but no time to dwell on it. Needed to finish up the session. Last item of the day was a max distance sled drag. I could’ve kept the weight the same as last time and just tried to get more distance but I wanted to do more weight. A lot more. Maybe I was pissed off about the husafel set. Added 40lbs to the sled and got set. Started slow and I worried I had made a mistake. But I kept going. Kept telling myself to keep the feet moving. There were several times where I was concerned with hitting a divot in the road made by either dropping the husafel or farmer’s walk handles. But I pushed on and got a better distance than last time with the increased weight. It ended up being like another exercise putting away all the equipment I had out. Decided I’d rather go home to stretch than stay at the gym. Stretched and then again had to cool off with an ice back on my neck. Really need to refuel and get some good, quality sleep this weekend.
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
Yoke/I-Beam Farmer’s Walk Medleys
y-300x100’ in 10.79 seconds
500x30’/122x30’ in 11.26 seconds
600x30’/200x30’ in 12.28 seconds
700x30’/260x30’ in 14.57 seconds
y-750xpick
800x60’/320x60’ in 31.30 seconds
Sandbag Rows
150x5
200x5
275x6 PR+10lbs
H-Stone Carry (off platform)
Turns at 30’
303x60’
353x60’
Turns at 60’
403x166’10”
Sled Drags
405x192’4” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Definitely feeling the heavy box squats and lack of sleep upon waking. Work stress with current and future demands leaving little time to think when not at home. Lots of things to get thru today so no time to waste. Out to Lancaster to training event work. Apparently cool enough at the gym that they didn’t have the big industrial fan on. Meant I was going to be a sweaty mess so good thing I packed a towel and three shirts. George Pearson was there training for Master’s World’s Strongest Man in December. Haven’t seen him since May 2015 at the Kumite show. Warmed up on the rower. Felt pretty easy at the start but then got back to normal difficulty about halfway thru haha. Calf work was okay and the box touches for both styles were good. Squat therapy I was little achy but still pretty good. Hip airplanes were pretty good as well. Band rows and stretching followed. Easy one rows. Biceps were really tight so this was good on the stretch. Set of push-ups to finish things up. Felt pretty easy this time. Upper back on the left side was feeling sore and tight. A little worried with how heavy event work would feel. Medley work for Nationals with yoke and farmer’s walks. As I found out last week after weighing the implements, I found the farmer’s walk handles were 2.5lbs lighter than I thought they were and the yoke was 3lbs more than the lightest I thought it was. So I had to make some adjustments. The first set warm-up stayed the same. Fastest I’ve done it so far so that was good sign. No issues with the upper back but goodness was my lower body feeling like someone took a hammer to it. Lower back and hips were feeling it haha. Then setup half distance course again with both implements. Weight increased by 100lbs on the yoke compared to the last two times while farmer’s stayed about the same. I felt pretty good on the speed with the yoke despite the jump in weight. Times were at most a second slower compared to last time but again, yoke much heavier on each warm-up set. The second to last set of farmer’s walk, I rushed the setup as I gripped on handle in the middle while the other was towards the back. Felt weird but I powered thru it. Before the last set, another change made. Pick with a weight in-between the previous set and last set. It felt heavy. I was a little worried going into this last set. Brian I think said something about this is big time weights and I said something like I have to do it first. George then said that there should be no doubt and just do it. Helped me get my head on straight. Pick with 800lbs felt better than the previous weight and I felt I was movng pretty well until about halfway. Better transition into the farmer’s walk handles. These were a bear to pick up. Those handles rotating in my hands just suck. Much like yoke, once I was up and moving it was going well but again, I slowed down about halfway as I was trying to keep my grip secure. But I finished with no drops. About 3 seconds slower compared to last time but still good. I was pretty wiped from that but I still had a lot to go through still. Sandbag rows after that. Slight change in that the warm-ups to the top set were all sets of five so I could go a little heavier on those sets. The sandbags were all in a pile and the one I wanted for the first set was near the back. I tried to pull it out but that ended up being more of a hassle and my right biceps started to not like that. So I ended up being a little tentative with my reps on those first two sets. Last set, I wanted to go for another big increase. Compared to last time, just felt heavy and awkward. I should have re-read my training plan for today as I was only supposed to do five but did six. I’ll make sure I go for just five next time. Soft belt popped off one of the straps mid-set. And that was going to end up being a theme the rest of the day. Husafel stone again. A fairly big change on this one. Previously all sets were for max distance. This time, the two work up set were just for 60’ with turns at 30’ and only the last set being a max distance run. Working on the peak at this point. Hopefully a changeup that will lead to further improvements. I had gotten some more clarification on the husafel carry for Nats in that no grip aids (gloves, sleeves or tape) will be allowed as it is rubberized. Brian also had a chance to try one with very little weight in it and he said that my staggered grip might not work with how the lead shot shifts. I’ve trained with lead shot loaded husafel before so I don’t think it will be a factor but I figured it would be worth a shot to try this stuff out now rather than day of. Husafel came out 3lbs more than I had been using but it wasn’t worth it trying to get the exact weight so just did it with the extra 3lbs as I have been doing this whole cycle. First set I did front carry style. Yeah, that sucked. I was slow and felt like it was going to drop the entire time. Looking at the video, I probably should have bumped it up my body more so that I could a get a better grip. The next set, I went back to my stagger style grip. This thing is still pretty slick so I still moved much quicker compared to the previous set I didn’t feel as secured as I usually do. For the last set, I wrapped up with tape on the forearms and gloves. They won’t be allowed at the show but to get the most out of training on this one, I feel they are necessary. I’m certain I will get a pretty good grip with the rubber coating and chalk. Tape also keeps the bruising down on my forearm that gets painful. I felt like everything would go well for this last set but it did not. I was moving well but I felt my grip on my bottom hand already feeling compromised before I made it down one length. Well short of my best and even of my worst this training cycle. My forearms and grip had been feeling good after the deep tissue massage earlier this week. Felt disgusted with it but no time to dwell on it. Needed to finish up the session. Last item of the day was a max distance sled drag. I could’ve kept the weight the same as last time and just tried to get more distance but I wanted to do more weight. A lot more. Maybe I was pissed off about the husafel set. Added 40lbs to the sled and got set. Started slow and I worried I had made a mistake. But I kept going. Kept telling myself to keep the feet moving. There were several times where I was concerned with hitting a divot in the road made by either dropping the husafel or farmer’s walk handles. But I pushed on and got a better distance than last time with the increased weight. It ended up being like another exercise putting away all the equipment I had out. Decided I’d rather go home to stretch than stay at the gym. Stretched and then again had to cool off with an ice back on my neck. Really need to refuel and get some good, quality sleep this weekend.
Friday, October 6, 2017
October 5, 2017 – Week 8, Day 2
5 Minutes Percor AMT
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
16” Box Squats
45x10
95x2
145x2
195x2
245x2
295x2
345x2
395x2
445x2
495x2
Weighted Plank
BW+100x30 seconds
BW+155x30 seconds
Side Plank
BWx60/60 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Not much to this workout as the focus remains on the heavy pressing work on Day 1 and event stuff Day 3. But still putting full effort into everything. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate 146bpm so that was good. Calf raise work after that. Some difference between the two sides but not a drastic issue. Box touches with both styles felt good. Good stretch in hamstrings. On to squat therapy. Knees were achy but not as bad as I was expecting. Hip airplanes were good. Good for the hips and back. Band rows and biceps stretch combo after that. Rows felt alright okay and stretch was pretty good for the arms and shoulders. On to the weights. Plan for today was to work up to a conservative top double on box squat, going up in sets of two. I think I’m getting used to box/regular squatting again. For some reason, I felt I had a big lift in me (compared to what I’ve been doing) even though this was just one rep less than last time. I made jumps in 50lbs so that I would have a good margin of error if things went sideways as I warmed up and could adjust the top set. When I first had thought of this workout, I was planning on doing plate-quarter-plate jumps up to four plates and then doing 40lbs jumps. Knees felt better as I went up in weight. I had some concerns with the lower weights. Camera was saying I was moving fairly well on the bar speed even as the weight kept climbing. Weight was feeling heavy on the second to last set. I felt like I almost stumbled walking the weight out. Was debating on going for that last jump up to five plates. Watched the video of the last set a twice and felt that I had this. Not backing out of it now so another 50lbs on the bar. Took a bit for me to get my mind right and calm my breathing down so I wasn’t burping. Walkout felt better this set and I got one rep pretty good and then went for the second. A little tougher at the midpoint but still solid. Probably had another rep there. Happy to get this one what is basically the last heavy squat workout this cycle. Hoping this carries over to my deadlift off the floor. Left side of lower back was a little tender after that set but felt alright. On to abdominal work. Weighted planks followed by unweighted side planks. Plan had been to do the same as I’ve done the last two workouts. First set was good and pretty easy, I just was sweaty. Second set had a hiccup as the kettlebell fell off my back. Didn’t want to chance that so I just had about the same weight in bumper plates added. Side planks I felt like my abs would cramp up. But held strong. Home to stretch and eat. Need to make sure I’m rested for the next workout.
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
16” Box Squats
45x10
95x2
145x2
195x2
245x2
295x2
345x2
395x2
445x2
495x2
Weighted Plank
BW+100x30 seconds
BW+155x30 seconds
Side Plank
BWx60/60 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Not much to this workout as the focus remains on the heavy pressing work on Day 1 and event stuff Day 3. But still putting full effort into everything. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate 146bpm so that was good. Calf raise work after that. Some difference between the two sides but not a drastic issue. Box touches with both styles felt good. Good stretch in hamstrings. On to squat therapy. Knees were achy but not as bad as I was expecting. Hip airplanes were good. Good for the hips and back. Band rows and biceps stretch combo after that. Rows felt alright okay and stretch was pretty good for the arms and shoulders. On to the weights. Plan for today was to work up to a conservative top double on box squat, going up in sets of two. I think I’m getting used to box/regular squatting again. For some reason, I felt I had a big lift in me (compared to what I’ve been doing) even though this was just one rep less than last time. I made jumps in 50lbs so that I would have a good margin of error if things went sideways as I warmed up and could adjust the top set. When I first had thought of this workout, I was planning on doing plate-quarter-plate jumps up to four plates and then doing 40lbs jumps. Knees felt better as I went up in weight. I had some concerns with the lower weights. Camera was saying I was moving fairly well on the bar speed even as the weight kept climbing. Weight was feeling heavy on the second to last set. I felt like I almost stumbled walking the weight out. Was debating on going for that last jump up to five plates. Watched the video of the last set a twice and felt that I had this. Not backing out of it now so another 50lbs on the bar. Took a bit for me to get my mind right and calm my breathing down so I wasn’t burping. Walkout felt better this set and I got one rep pretty good and then went for the second. A little tougher at the midpoint but still solid. Probably had another rep there. Happy to get this one what is basically the last heavy squat workout this cycle. Hoping this carries over to my deadlift off the floor. Left side of lower back was a little tender after that set but felt alright. On to abdominal work. Weighted planks followed by unweighted side planks. Plan had been to do the same as I’ve done the last two workouts. First set was good and pretty easy, I just was sweaty. Second set had a hiccup as the kettlebell fell off my back. Didn’t want to chance that so I just had about the same weight in bumper plates added. Side planks I felt like my abs would cramp up. But held strong. Home to stretch and eat. Need to make sure I’m rested for the next workout.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
October 3, 2017 – Week 8, Day 1
5 Minutes Percor AMT
Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15
One Leg Leaning Calf Raises
BWx15/15
Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15
Squat Therapy (16” Box)
BWx15
Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx7/7
Band Rows w/Biceps Stretch
MMBx20/20 seconds
MMBx20/20 seconds
Push-ups
BWx15
Bench Presses
45x10
95x3
145x3
185x3
225x3
265x3
305x3
345x3
Narrow Grip
285x5
Chest Supported Rows (1 second holds)
100x6
150x6
200x6
250x6
300x6
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses
15’sx15
35’sx8
45’sx8
55’sx8
65’sx8
75’sx8
85’sx8
Band Triceps Pressdowns
SBx30
SBx30
Stretching
Comments: Body had been tense after Saturday’s workout. Luckily I had a deep tissue massage scheduled for Monday. Definitely needed it. Crazy to think that I’m using hundreds of pounds more compared to last cycle for just about every lift week in and week out. Forearms, neck and the muscles around my knee and shoulder joints needed it. Almost feels like a workout after a session. So I felt pretty good going into this workout. Warmed up on the AMT. Topped out at 153bpm. Calf raise work after that. Felt alright, no real issues. Just harder on the strong side. That side was apparently much tighter than my left side in the hamstrings. Box touches were alright as well. Some knee tenderness but I think that is less from joint ache and more from the bruise on my right knee from trying to “pinch” the stone of steel on that one attempt at shortchanging the pick and lap. Knees ached a bit on the squat therapy but that is kind of expected this first session of the week. Hip airplanes were good. They felt good on the hips as they have been this cycle. Band rows and biceps stretch after that. Stretch still feeling good and band rows felt easy. A set of push-ups to finish off the light stuff. More effort than I would like but still good. Started things off with bench press. Working up in sets of three to a 3rm. I had an idea of what I wanted to hit on this but it would come down to how I felt after the second to last set. The first reps on some sets felt a little off but then subsequent reps were good. Chest did feel a little tight from the massage but no issues. Second to last set of triples felt a little heavy but the bar speed was great so I went with my optimistic jump for the last set. I figured this weight was doable with how the reps with three plates went last time. First rep was a little tough but the second rep was much better. I ended up misgrooving the third rep and pushing too much toward my face too early. This ended up being an ugly rep that I had to maneuver around the pins to get back in the rack. I was not missing this rep. I had thought this was my old 5rm but looking at my records, this appears to have matched my 3rm. Granted there is only 5lbs difference between those two benchmarks, this is a good sign and was unexpected. Then moved the grip in for the last set. I didn’t respect the weight on that first rep as when I unracked the bar, it felt really heavy and it was more of a controlled drop than a conscious descent haha. Those were some tough reps but got the five and was ready to move on to the next exercise. On to static hold chest supported rows. 6rm for this time. Just went with 50lbs jumps on this to what I knew would be a hard top set. I took pretty short rests on these up until the last two sets when the weight got pretty serious. While this is my lighter and stricter day with the pauses/holds, still no less tough. Those holds are a bear as the weight definitely wants to pull me forward. Body feels like a furnace after the top two sets. A bit of change in the next exercise. Focus being on the peaking of my log for Nats so no circus dumbbell pressing for now. Old exercise from my first training cycle; seated dumbbell presses. Plan was to do a light warm-up and then do 4-5 sets up to a medium difficulty set of eight. I was aiming for more sets and reps for this session. I based off what I thought I’d be able to do with enough ease off what I hit that first training cycle. I treated every set like it was a heavy lift by just cleaning on dumbbell to the shoulders at a time. Left shoulder was certainly the more achy one on these but no pain. My expected top set was too easy so I ended up having to do another one. I wasn’t expecting that, otherwise I would have brought my dumbbell collars as the pair of 85lbs is mismatched (one is loose plates with thick handle and the other is longer with hex style bells). That was still pretty good and well within the level of effort for this set. Definitely have to rethink what I will use for next time. Finished up with band triceps. Had to rig something up as the power rack was in use. There was a barbell on top of the cable towers so I used that. I thought it would maybe roll around but it stayed put. Felt pretty good. Home to stretch and eat.
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