Saturday, November 4, 2017
November 4, 2017 – Week 12, Day 3
5 Minutes Sled Drag (55lbs for .25 miles)
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
Sled Drags/Prowler Pushes
205x100’/205x100’
205x100’/205x100’
205x100’/205x100’
205x100’/205x100’
205x100’/205x100’
Stretching
Comments: At home for training this time. I was looking forward to not having to wake up to an alarm after this week at work and not having to drive out for training in the morning. Really wanted to sleep in. Of course I slept well but woke up feeling seasonal allergies acting up. Oh well. Warm-up with the sled drag around the block. Been a while. Last time I used it I think was the very end of last training cycle for Refuge Barbell. Felt good, little bit of a lower back pump on the left side. Calf work after that. Felt tight but hardly noticeable disparity between the two sides. Then on to box touches. These felt really good on my hamstring today. Squat therapy was modified a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever done them at home before. I didn’t have anything that was at 16” so I had to stand on some plywood. This was inside and my ceilings are low (for me) so I had to bend my arms so I didn’t keep hitting the ceiling. But still good, knees felt alright. Hip airplanes didn’t start off well. I lost my balance immediately on the first rep. First time this entire cycle. Serves me right trying to do them on a slanted driveway. No issues after that first oopsie. No knee clicking on the right side but still feel something. Again no pain, just observing. Band rows and biceps stretches felt good. No issues with the biceps. Push-ups were ok as well. Only exercise with weight on the agenda for today was a drag and push medley. Plan being to do five sets supersetted for 100’ each way and then resting a minute between sets. Same exact workout to end the last training cycle. Allergies acting up so I just added a little bit of weight to the last time I did it as I remember I was overconfident the last time and this is a bit of a lung burner. I also didn’t have to deal with leaf piles and sticks in the road last time either. I felt a little slow at the start but that tends to be the case with these kinds of workouts. My times improved with the third set being my fastest. Then I got slower the following two sets. Sweating quite a bit after this workout despite the short duration. I didn’t think I would be back to competing at this level of competition so soon after the injury with essentially one competition under my belt since coming back. I’ve put in the work these past 12 weeks and I just have to put it all out there in six days.
Friday, November 3, 2017
November 2, 2017 – Week 12, 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
95x5
145x3
185x2
225x1
262x3
262x3
262x3
262x3
262x3
12” Log Quarter Squats
200x3
250x3
290x3
340x3
380x3 (30.62 seconds hold on last rep)
Stretching
Comments: Had a deep tissue massage the day before. I try to get these the week of the contest but scheduling wasn’t going to work this time. Felt good and got a lot of tension out of my upper back and neck. Right side (leg and hip) were really tight. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate only up to 148bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tight but felt good. I was expecting them to be not so good with how tight the calves felt. Box touches with both styles felt good as well. On to squat therapy. Sucked for my knees. But a lot better compared to the previous session this week. Hip airplanes were pretty good. No clicking with the right knee this time. I think the massage helped with that. Band rows and biceps stretch followed. Trying to get the biceps to relax. Rows I got to feel better than last session. Then on to the weights. Essentially the same setup as last cycle of training for box squats. Work up to 50% for five sets of three with two minutes rest. My squat was stronger so the weight went up this time. Knees were achy on the unracking of weights but felt good doing the actual squat. No support gear on these. Got my upper body tight (actively rather than passively) on the last two sets. Then on to log quarter squats. Same idea as last week, working up in big jumps to a top set with a hold on the last rep. 10lbs more over last week. This time, felt in between of the first and second week of these as far as feel. Knees didn’t feel so crappy but didn’t feel super-duper awesome. Trying to be consistent and methodical with these and get the first rep just right so that the other reps are crisp. Definitely feeling the weight on the top two sets. Upper abdominals on the right side were cramping up right before the second to last set. Didn’t lose my air like last week and feel pass-outty this time. Hard to stay stable and upright with this kind of weight. I pretty much stopped at 30 seconds as I didn’t want to have this be an all-out set and I was struggling to keep tight. Home to stretch and eat. One and done.
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
95x5
145x3
185x2
225x1
262x3
262x3
262x3
262x3
262x3
12” Log Quarter Squats
200x3
250x3
290x3
340x3
380x3 (30.62 seconds hold on last rep)
Stretching
Comments: Had a deep tissue massage the day before. I try to get these the week of the contest but scheduling wasn’t going to work this time. Felt good and got a lot of tension out of my upper back and neck. Right side (leg and hip) were really tight. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate only up to 148bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tight but felt good. I was expecting them to be not so good with how tight the calves felt. Box touches with both styles felt good as well. On to squat therapy. Sucked for my knees. But a lot better compared to the previous session this week. Hip airplanes were pretty good. No clicking with the right knee this time. I think the massage helped with that. Band rows and biceps stretch followed. Trying to get the biceps to relax. Rows I got to feel better than last session. Then on to the weights. Essentially the same setup as last cycle of training for box squats. Work up to 50% for five sets of three with two minutes rest. My squat was stronger so the weight went up this time. Knees were achy on the unracking of weights but felt good doing the actual squat. No support gear on these. Got my upper body tight (actively rather than passively) on the last two sets. Then on to log quarter squats. Same idea as last week, working up in big jumps to a top set with a hold on the last rep. 10lbs more over last week. This time, felt in between of the first and second week of these as far as feel. Knees didn’t feel so crappy but didn’t feel super-duper awesome. Trying to be consistent and methodical with these and get the first rep just right so that the other reps are crisp. Definitely feeling the weight on the top two sets. Upper abdominals on the right side were cramping up right before the second to last set. Didn’t lose my air like last week and feel pass-outty this time. Hard to stay stable and upright with this kind of weight. I pretty much stopped at 30 seconds as I didn’t want to have this be an all-out set and I was struggling to keep tight. Home to stretch and eat. One and done.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
October 31, 2017 – Week 12, 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 Jerks (one clean)
90x5
120x3
150x3
180x1
200x1
220x1
244x1
266x1
286x1
Stretching
Comments: The deload week is upon us. Definitely in need of it. Despite the heavy lifting on Saturday, I wasn’t as sore as I was expecting to be, not even two days later. However, my right knee has been feeling weird so I had taken some ibuprofen the day before. Warmed up on the AMT. A little hesitant with the knee so not as vigorous on this as I usually am. Heart rate only got up to about 142bpm. Calf raise work after that. These felt fine, just little tension in my right quad. Box touches felt good both styles. Nice hamstring stretch. Knee ached a little bit on squat therapy but not nearly as much as I was expecting so still good. Felt better as I did them. Hip air planes were good on the left side. Right side ok with the hip but knee was “clicking” slightly. Not painful in any way, just noticing it. Band rows felt good. Really trying to not pull with the biceps and thinking that my hands are hooks and that the point of focus with the pull is pulling with the elbows. Seemed to work well. Stretching felt good too. Push-ups to finish off the stuff before the weights. First rep didn’t feel great so I moved my hands in slightly and it felt perfect. Plan for this workout just a top single on log clean and jerks at about 90%. Not usually what one thinks for deload but compared to previous sessions I guess it is haha. Back to jerks. Despite being ugly, the drive I get on these appears to be enough to get past the sticking point I have with push press that will allow me to grind out a lockout. Something to fix during the off season I guess. I have to go with the style that will get me a lift come contest day so need to grease the groove after the last two weeks of push press. Empty log felt good. Next jump not so great as I kept going forward each rep. Better after that set though. 200lbs felt really crisp and easy. I was keeping an eye on the biceps. Definitely noticed it was harder on the clean (pulling the weight into my body to get to the shoulders, picking off the floor to the lap) once I got to the point where I had the hard belt on. Those points in the lift where I go from the leg drive to the lockout feel like an eternity but video suggests it is only a fraction of second. Second to last lift, I felt like I rowed the log up with my biceps. I knew I had to fix that for the next set. Can’t be putting so much stress when they are beat and already stressed from this training cycle. Too close to have a costly mistake. Better on the last set for the pull to the lap but the clean to the shoulders took more effort than I would have liked. Again, felt slow on the lockout but video says otherwise. Two more workouts left. Home to stretch and eat.
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 Jerks (one clean)
90x5
120x3
150x3
180x1
200x1
220x1
244x1
266x1
286x1
Stretching
Comments: The deload week is upon us. Definitely in need of it. Despite the heavy lifting on Saturday, I wasn’t as sore as I was expecting to be, not even two days later. However, my right knee has been feeling weird so I had taken some ibuprofen the day before. Warmed up on the AMT. A little hesitant with the knee so not as vigorous on this as I usually am. Heart rate only got up to about 142bpm. Calf raise work after that. These felt fine, just little tension in my right quad. Box touches felt good both styles. Nice hamstring stretch. Knee ached a little bit on squat therapy but not nearly as much as I was expecting so still good. Felt better as I did them. Hip air planes were good on the left side. Right side ok with the hip but knee was “clicking” slightly. Not painful in any way, just noticing it. Band rows felt good. Really trying to not pull with the biceps and thinking that my hands are hooks and that the point of focus with the pull is pulling with the elbows. Seemed to work well. Stretching felt good too. Push-ups to finish off the stuff before the weights. First rep didn’t feel great so I moved my hands in slightly and it felt perfect. Plan for this workout just a top single on log clean and jerks at about 90%. Not usually what one thinks for deload but compared to previous sessions I guess it is haha. Back to jerks. Despite being ugly, the drive I get on these appears to be enough to get past the sticking point I have with push press that will allow me to grind out a lockout. Something to fix during the off season I guess. I have to go with the style that will get me a lift come contest day so need to grease the groove after the last two weeks of push press. Empty log felt good. Next jump not so great as I kept going forward each rep. Better after that set though. 200lbs felt really crisp and easy. I was keeping an eye on the biceps. Definitely noticed it was harder on the clean (pulling the weight into my body to get to the shoulders, picking off the floor to the lap) once I got to the point where I had the hard belt on. Those points in the lift where I go from the leg drive to the lockout feel like an eternity but video suggests it is only a fraction of second. Second to last lift, I felt like I rowed the log up with my biceps. I knew I had to fix that for the next set. Can’t be putting so much stress when they are beat and already stressed from this training cycle. Too close to have a costly mistake. Better on the last set for the pull to the lap but the clean to the shoulders took more effort than I would have liked. Again, felt slow on the lockout but video says otherwise. Two more workouts left. Home to stretch and eat.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
October 28, 2017 – Week 11, 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 (6”)
54x10
Farmer’s Handles (15”)
135x1
225x1
Frame (16”)
315x1
405x1
495x1
585x1
Added Straps
675x1
Frame (19”)
750x1
800x1
Frame (22”)
855x1
Stone of Steel Over Bar (57”)
138x1
176x1
201x1
225x1
249x1
275.5x1
300x1
364.5x0,0
364.5x1
384x1
403x1
Prowler Pushes
475x162’3” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Last heavy workout. I wasn’t feeling that this would go so well with how achy my knees were on the previous workout. Got some eye twitching going on the past week or so haha. Right biceps still somewhat sore. Didn’t wrap it or wear the sleeve but still keeping an eye on that. But I felt good waking up today so I hoped that would mean good things. Out to Lancaster for training. Warmed up on the rower. Felt good. Calf work and box touches were pretty good. Squat therapy was good too. No real aching in my knees. Hip airplanes were good. Had some balance issues with my one side but stayed steady and got my reps with no do-overs. Band rows and stretching followed. Stretch was good, cautious with the band rows. First set felt better than the second. Then frame deadlifts. Warmed up with the farmer’s walk handles with connectors for a light set. Back of the handle grip and tried to move my feet forward a little bit more to be in line with my grip and get better hip drive. Original plan from a few weeks out had been to just do a moderately heavy single but the new plan for more frame work made this the heaviest session so far. Starting things off was singles up to 95%. First two singles were with the farmer’s walk setup before getting to a heavy enough weight for the I-beams. No knee aching and weight felt like it was moving reasonably well so I felt like I could hit my goals. Foot position I had to play around with as sometimes it felt like it made me off balance (too far forward). Last single from contest height was pretty tough but probably could do a tough double. Felt a little easier than 640lbs felt last time. Raised the frame up 3” more. Plan here was to beat my best single from last time anywhere from 10-20lbs. I really wanted that 20lbs. Going right for that weight wouldn’t be smart with how the form is a little different raised up so I took an in-between lift. That felt pretty heavy but it looked like it moved well. Don’t know if it moved “800lbs was going to happen” well but it was enough for me to go for broke. 800lbs was slow going but I got it. No pain. Then another 3” added. One more single with even more weight. I really wanted to do another 50lbs jump but I decided to just put plates on each side to get to 855lbs. It was a gamble as those other lifts were a lot of effort. If I got it, it would be the most weight I’ve lifted in a deadlift type fashion (not counting yoke). It was a short range of motion but it was definitely a long pull. That weight did not want to be lifted. Happy to get that weight up too. I took my time breaking down the frame and putting away weights. I wanted my lower back to recover some and I had to wait to use the stone of steel. Plan for this session was to work up to top single with no grip aids of any kind and then a top single with whatever on. Not max singles but still good. Conservative maxes (I swear I will get it right one day). My one training partner got 384lbs today so I had a goal to shoot for, though I was already entertaining 400lbs or so. I started light as usual with somewhat small jumps. Biceps didn’t like it if I ripped and gripped it or got too overzealous with extension using my arms. The more I did sets, the better I felt though. Got 300lbs with room to spare on the no grip assist single. Definitely good for a lot more just moderate increases each time. Then it was go time with the gloves and the tacky towel. Or so I thought. I put the weight at 364.5lbs and thought it was going to be easy. It was not. I messed up my extension and I brought it back down too soon and totally missed it. I then rolled it back and gave it another shot. Same result. Ok, now I’m pissed. I reset the setup and took a minute or so to collect my thoughts and came back and crushed it (I proceeded to give it two middle fingers). Confidence for more, not sure. I really didn’t want to leave things there. If Brian hadn’t lifted heavier that same day, I probably would have called it there. So I loaded up his weight and got that convincingly. Well lets go up another level. Over 400lbs. I should have this. Lower back was starting to feel the fatigue of the heavy frame deadlifts and the missed attempts from before. But I got it in my lap and extended. Good. Definitely more there. Getting close to maxing out this darn thing haha. Last thing for the day was max distance prowler push. Same as before, 75 seconds. Put a little more weight than last time. Just kept pushing. It was slow going and I hit spots where it almost stopped me twice. But I kept at it the whole time. Glutes and legs were beat from that. Home to stretch and then eat lots of beef tenderloin.
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 (6”)
54x10
Farmer’s Handles (15”)
135x1
225x1
Frame (16”)
315x1
405x1
495x1
585x1
Added Straps
675x1
Frame (19”)
750x1
800x1
Frame (22”)
855x1
Stone of Steel Over Bar (57”)
138x1
176x1
201x1
225x1
249x1
275.5x1
300x1
364.5x0,0
364.5x1
384x1
403x1
Prowler Pushes
475x162’3” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: Last heavy workout. I wasn’t feeling that this would go so well with how achy my knees were on the previous workout. Got some eye twitching going on the past week or so haha. Right biceps still somewhat sore. Didn’t wrap it or wear the sleeve but still keeping an eye on that. But I felt good waking up today so I hoped that would mean good things. Out to Lancaster for training. Warmed up on the rower. Felt good. Calf work and box touches were pretty good. Squat therapy was good too. No real aching in my knees. Hip airplanes were good. Had some balance issues with my one side but stayed steady and got my reps with no do-overs. Band rows and stretching followed. Stretch was good, cautious with the band rows. First set felt better than the second. Then frame deadlifts. Warmed up with the farmer’s walk handles with connectors for a light set. Back of the handle grip and tried to move my feet forward a little bit more to be in line with my grip and get better hip drive. Original plan from a few weeks out had been to just do a moderately heavy single but the new plan for more frame work made this the heaviest session so far. Starting things off was singles up to 95%. First two singles were with the farmer’s walk setup before getting to a heavy enough weight for the I-beams. No knee aching and weight felt like it was moving reasonably well so I felt like I could hit my goals. Foot position I had to play around with as sometimes it felt like it made me off balance (too far forward). Last single from contest height was pretty tough but probably could do a tough double. Felt a little easier than 640lbs felt last time. Raised the frame up 3” more. Plan here was to beat my best single from last time anywhere from 10-20lbs. I really wanted that 20lbs. Going right for that weight wouldn’t be smart with how the form is a little different raised up so I took an in-between lift. That felt pretty heavy but it looked like it moved well. Don’t know if it moved “800lbs was going to happen” well but it was enough for me to go for broke. 800lbs was slow going but I got it. No pain. Then another 3” added. One more single with even more weight. I really wanted to do another 50lbs jump but I decided to just put plates on each side to get to 855lbs. It was a gamble as those other lifts were a lot of effort. If I got it, it would be the most weight I’ve lifted in a deadlift type fashion (not counting yoke). It was a short range of motion but it was definitely a long pull. That weight did not want to be lifted. Happy to get that weight up too. I took my time breaking down the frame and putting away weights. I wanted my lower back to recover some and I had to wait to use the stone of steel. Plan for this session was to work up to top single with no grip aids of any kind and then a top single with whatever on. Not max singles but still good. Conservative maxes (I swear I will get it right one day). My one training partner got 384lbs today so I had a goal to shoot for, though I was already entertaining 400lbs or so. I started light as usual with somewhat small jumps. Biceps didn’t like it if I ripped and gripped it or got too overzealous with extension using my arms. The more I did sets, the better I felt though. Got 300lbs with room to spare on the no grip assist single. Definitely good for a lot more just moderate increases each time. Then it was go time with the gloves and the tacky towel. Or so I thought. I put the weight at 364.5lbs and thought it was going to be easy. It was not. I messed up my extension and I brought it back down too soon and totally missed it. I then rolled it back and gave it another shot. Same result. Ok, now I’m pissed. I reset the setup and took a minute or so to collect my thoughts and came back and crushed it (I proceeded to give it two middle fingers). Confidence for more, not sure. I really didn’t want to leave things there. If Brian hadn’t lifted heavier that same day, I probably would have called it there. So I loaded up his weight and got that convincingly. Well lets go up another level. Over 400lbs. I should have this. Lower back was starting to feel the fatigue of the heavy frame deadlifts and the missed attempts from before. But I got it in my lap and extended. Good. Definitely more there. Getting close to maxing out this darn thing haha. Last thing for the day was max distance prowler push. Same as before, 75 seconds. Put a little more weight than last time. Just kept pushing. It was slow going and I hit spots where it almost stopped me twice. But I kept at it the whole time. Glutes and legs were beat from that. Home to stretch and then eat lots of beef tenderloin.
Friday, October 27, 2017
October 26, 2017 – Week 11, 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
195x2
245x1
285x2
285x2
12” Log Quarter Squats
190x3
240x3
280x3
330x3
370x3 (7.89 seconds hold on last rep)
370x1 (32.66 seconds hold)
Crunches
BWx30
Leg Raises
BWx30
Stretching
Comments: Definitely in that tensed, stressed and fatigued state. Ready to deload. Keeping eye on the right biceps still. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate only up to 149bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tight but felt good. Box touches with both styles felt good as well. On to squat therapy. Sucked for my knees. Achy the whole time. Hip airplanes were pretty good. I felt like I was having some balance issues at the start but felt fine doing the exercise. Band rows and biceps stretch followed. Trying to get the biceps to relax. This workout was going to just be front box squats and light abs but some log stuff has been added. On to the front squat box squats. Knees were feeling okay on these. 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. Advised to use a hard belt over 275lbs. Upper body tight as I felt that my mobility to hold the rack position with the bar wasn’t as easy as it usually is. Weights felt heavy on my chest but I feel I moved better on the sets. I wasn’t rushing the descent on any lifts. Top weight for two doubles. I didn’t do set time for the rests as I wanted to make sure the reps were good and I was rested. I didn’t want a repeat of last time. It does feel tough to breathe on these but they went well. Then on to log quarter squats. Same idea as last week, working up in big jumps to a top set with a hold on the last rep. Did not feel as good this week. Knees were aching like crazy, even with the light weight. Perhaps I was getting lift wrong breaking off the pins or something as far as feeling comfortable with the weight on my sternum. Became very apparent on the last set where I was to do the hold. I felt like I was going to black-out right away and put it down at about seven seconds. I took about a minute to clear my head and adjust the position of the log in the rack slightly in hopes it would rest on the shoulders better. Success. I didn’t want to go for an all-out effort this time and I tried to gauge where my form was starting to falter to end the hold. I think I got closer to that this time. 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. Home to stretch and eat. One more hard workout to go.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
October 24, 2017 – Week 11, 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
90x1
120x1
150x1
180x1
210x1
240x1
270x1
300x1
325x0
Clean and Jerks (one clean)
255x6
Chest Supported Rows
160x5
200x5
240x5
280x5
320x5
Band Resisted Push-ups
No Bands
BWx15
Add Bands
ABx10
Add Bands & Chains
SB+33cx5
SB+33cx5
SB+33cx5
Band Triceps Pressdowns
SBx30
SBx30
Stretching
Comments: Last really heavy week. Been keeping an eye on the right biceps, wrapping in an ace bandage to keep warm and provide a little compression when I get home from work. Hoping it will help with recovery as things are not going to get easier. Plan for this session was heavy log and then somewhat lighter duty assistance work. Lower body was pretty beat from Saturday. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 156bpm. Calf raise work after that. Pretty good here. Not having any super tight and difficult days like I have had on these sometimes. Box touches felt good both styles. Squat therapy was just so-so as my knees were bit achy. Hip airplanes were also good. Band rows felt good. Definitely needed the stretch for biceps this session. Push-ups to finish off the stuff before the weights. Felt really good. On to log work. I put on my copper infused compression sleeve for the rest of the workout then. Don’t want to take any chances this close. Same as last time in that the plan was to work up to a top single with 30lbs jumps. Aiming for push press so no hesitation with jerk or not to jerk. I picked the weight jumps so that I would hit 300lbs on my second to last attempt and then have the option if feeling good to go for 325lbs or 330lbs. Push press felt good today. I did change things up a little using metal plates as I wanted to see how these felt with denser concentration near the end of the log. My log is essentially hollow so I’m wanted to see if I could get it to feel like a denser log. The plates moving I think just made the clean tougher I think. 270lbs went up pretty good so I thought a PR may happen. Reality came back on 300lbs as I got pretty lighted headed after finishing the lift so I knew even attempting 315lbs would have been tough. But I gave it my best shot. I got it off my shoulders but couldn’t get past my sticking point. It will eventually happen, just not today. I haven’t missed any weights 310lbs and under since I first hit 300lbs so the consistency to hit that kind of weight any given session seems to be a good sign at least. So then on to the down set. 85% for 3-5 reps was the plan. Missed the top single I wanted so the most weight successfully lifted was what I based things off of. Ended up being the same weight as last time. Push press was much better compared to jerks. I however still suck with press away on log. I got three pretty easy reps but I got light headed on the third rep and put down the log. I wasn’t sure how many reps I did so I recleaned the log and did three more. Other than getting lightheaded and having to do another clean, pretty good. I feel sturdier on the push press but I got to get my breathing right. Then on to chest supported rows. Not a heavy session of rows per se as the plan was my 10rm as the top set but only doing sets of five. Keeping an eye on the biceps at the start of each set so that I started off well. Good, explosive reps was the name of the game here. Felt good on the upper back. I noticed that my blood blister on the left hand (darn farmer’s walk handles) had opened so that wasn’t fun. Then on to band push-ups . I had all my bands this time so warm-ups were just right. Heavier resistance for the working sets but only doing sets of five, even though I could do more. Three times as much chain weight. That felt weird haha. Finished up with band triceps work. Felt pretty good. Didn’t feel completely wrecked after this session. Would have been nice to get another log PR. Home to stretch and eat recovery burritos.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
October 21, 2017 – Week 10, 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 11.40 seconds
500x30’/112xDNF (Rogue handles, weights fell off)
500x30’/122x30’ in 10.53 seconds
600x30’/200x30’ in 11.89 seconds
700x30’/265x30’ in 14.45 seconds
y-800xpick
850x60’/332x60’ in 38.09 seconds
Sandbag Rows
150x5
225x5
285x5 PR+10lbs
H-Stone Carry (off platform)
Turns at 30’
300x60’
350x60’
Turns at 60’
400x207’4”
400x182’5”
Sled Drags
445x147’1” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: It was hard getting sleep this week. I’d get distracted upon getting home from work or the gym and the hours would disappear. Things at least calmed down a little by Friday with work but I’m sure it will be hectic Monday again and start all over. I was nervous thinking about this workout. Last time I’d touch some of these events before Nationals. Out to Lancaster to training event work. It has gotten cooler out so I wore my long sleeve warm-ups but there was no cloud cover so it got quite warm. Good thing I had the extra shirts and towel. Quite a few people in today training for different upcoming shows. Warmed up on the rower. Keeping an eye on the right biceps. Didn’t wear the sleeve at the start to see how things felt. Row felt good, although my hips felt pretty tight afterwards. Calf work was okay and the box touches for both styles were good. Squat therapy I was little achy but still pretty good. Best it has felt this week. Hip airplanes were pretty good as well. Band rows and stretching followed. Easy on 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. First up was medley work for Nationals with yoke and farmer’s walks. The first set warm-up stayed the same. I felt I was moving well but it turns out this was the slowest I’ve done this so far this training cycle. Not the best start to the day (luckily I don’t know my exact times until I get home to edit video). Then setup half distance course again with both implements. At least I tried to. Initially, the I-beam handles were in use for another competitor doing frame picks for WSM under 80kgs, Guy Fulton. I didn’t have my good clamps for the other handles but I tried to make do. I really wanted to use the I-beam handles to finish off the training cycle. I setup the run with the other handles with the tightest clips I could find (that weren’t in use) and set off. Didn’t go well. Yoke was fine but the weights fell off the handles on the left side almost immediately. Weight was light though (grip feels so much better than the other handles) but I tossed the empty handle to the side and then dropped the other handle a short bit after that. This wasn’t going to work. Can’t risk the weights falling off and getting an injury. So I waited until the other handles were available and reset the course. Much better that time haha. The working up sets were the same as last time with the only change being the second to last set of farmer’s walk was a little bit heavier. Each run was faster than the last time I did this so that was good. Pick was done for the yoke and it felt easy compared to last time. Enough so that I had confidence in finishing the yoke no problem. Then came the moment of truth. Yoke and farmer’s walk slightly above contest weight. This weight would be 200lbs more than what I had done on yoke last training cycle. Had Brian, Guy and George out shouting at me as I did this run. I heard noise but only bits and pieces get through when I’m focused. Pick was good and I was a little slow off the start but I felt I was doing well until about halfway. I felt myself start to falter but kept going and slowed down. I was not going to have any drops. I just knew that this was going to make my legs tired for the farmer’s walk. I finished the yoke and took my time to get to the handles. I knew that this was going to be hard and I had one shot at the pick. This was one of the slowest picks I’ve had on these farmer’s handles. I think I accidentally had some of my right foot on the bottom of the one implement (shouldn’t be an issue with the implements at Nationals) so that might have added some additional resistance. The effort meant that if I dropped these, I wasn’t getting them back up. I was definitely moving slow. Video it looks like I was walking all over the place. About halfway through this run, I felt the handles settle lower in my hand. I heard someone yell don’t drop them. It was a weird sensation as all I could feel was weight in my hands, like no other awareness of my body. But I finished the course. I was just dead and after that (but still enough presence of mind to flip double middle fingers). Then on to sandbag rows. Same as last time, three sets of five up to a 5rm with up to 10lbs more than last time. I put on the copper sleeve for this and kept it on the rest of the day. Biceps still a bit tender so keeping an eye on it as I did these. These felt better compared to last time and I was using more weight on the two heavier sets. Not happy that the biceps is still tender but happy that the weight was feeling better. Husafel stone again. I guess I shouldn’t say again as there was a big change here as I was using a different husafel stone. The previous weekend, I had brought my BiggDoggStrongg husafel out my garage to the gym (this was pain to do in the morning by myself). The dimensions are closer to the competition one and it is chain loaded so the weight is at the bottom. I wanted to try and mimic contest conditions since no gloves or tape on forearms allowed. My only concern was if there was going to be enough chains to get to contest weight. If not, then I’d mess around with the thinner one with sharp edges. As luck would have it, there was enough chain to get with 30lbs of what I needed for the top set and there were enough tiny plates that would fit to reach the quota. Plan same as last time except I was to do the contest weight for two runs this time. Chalked up my forearms and hands and got to work. First set I did front carry style. I was expecting to but I picked it off the platform and it felt so comfortable that I just did it. Right biceps didn’t particular care for this style so I made sure to do staggered the next set. That went smoothly as well. I really didn’t know what to expect with this husafel stone so I was happy it felt comfortable. Then on to the top sets. I was planning for anything from dropping it right at the start to walking to the next county. My grip felt pretty secured on that first set. I just told myself that as long as I made two lengths on both sets, it would be a job well done. But I got a third and ended up almost halfway down for a fourth. I wasn’t expecting this after how the last two sessions have gone at this weight. Second best distance I’ve done with this weight. Any distance on the second set was going to be just gravy for total time and distance with the stone. Grinded out three lengths and dropped it on the turn. So good work here going into Nationals. Definitely some confidence restored. Last item of the day was a max distance sled drag. I had all these weights out from the farmer’s walk earlier so I just put those on minus a pair of 25lbs plates. This added 40lbs to the sled from last time. Don’t know what I was thinking but I got set and started the slow and steady set. Just kept telling myself to keep moving over and over until the timer went. Put away all the stuff I had out which took about 20 minutes before driving home to stretch and recover. One more hard week to go.
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 11.40 seconds
500x30’/112xDNF (Rogue handles, weights fell off)
500x30’/122x30’ in 10.53 seconds
600x30’/200x30’ in 11.89 seconds
700x30’/265x30’ in 14.45 seconds
y-800xpick
850x60’/332x60’ in 38.09 seconds
Sandbag Rows
150x5
225x5
285x5 PR+10lbs
H-Stone Carry (off platform)
Turns at 30’
300x60’
350x60’
Turns at 60’
400x207’4”
400x182’5”
Sled Drags
445x147’1” in 75 seconds
Stretching
Comments: It was hard getting sleep this week. I’d get distracted upon getting home from work or the gym and the hours would disappear. Things at least calmed down a little by Friday with work but I’m sure it will be hectic Monday again and start all over. I was nervous thinking about this workout. Last time I’d touch some of these events before Nationals. Out to Lancaster to training event work. It has gotten cooler out so I wore my long sleeve warm-ups but there was no cloud cover so it got quite warm. Good thing I had the extra shirts and towel. Quite a few people in today training for different upcoming shows. Warmed up on the rower. Keeping an eye on the right biceps. Didn’t wear the sleeve at the start to see how things felt. Row felt good, although my hips felt pretty tight afterwards. Calf work was okay and the box touches for both styles were good. Squat therapy I was little achy but still pretty good. Best it has felt this week. Hip airplanes were pretty good as well. Band rows and stretching followed. Easy on 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. First up was medley work for Nationals with yoke and farmer’s walks. The first set warm-up stayed the same. I felt I was moving well but it turns out this was the slowest I’ve done this so far this training cycle. Not the best start to the day (luckily I don’t know my exact times until I get home to edit video). Then setup half distance course again with both implements. At least I tried to. Initially, the I-beam handles were in use for another competitor doing frame picks for WSM under 80kgs, Guy Fulton. I didn’t have my good clamps for the other handles but I tried to make do. I really wanted to use the I-beam handles to finish off the training cycle. I setup the run with the other handles with the tightest clips I could find (that weren’t in use) and set off. Didn’t go well. Yoke was fine but the weights fell off the handles on the left side almost immediately. Weight was light though (grip feels so much better than the other handles) but I tossed the empty handle to the side and then dropped the other handle a short bit after that. This wasn’t going to work. Can’t risk the weights falling off and getting an injury. So I waited until the other handles were available and reset the course. Much better that time haha. The working up sets were the same as last time with the only change being the second to last set of farmer’s walk was a little bit heavier. Each run was faster than the last time I did this so that was good. Pick was done for the yoke and it felt easy compared to last time. Enough so that I had confidence in finishing the yoke no problem. Then came the moment of truth. Yoke and farmer’s walk slightly above contest weight. This weight would be 200lbs more than what I had done on yoke last training cycle. Had Brian, Guy and George out shouting at me as I did this run. I heard noise but only bits and pieces get through when I’m focused. Pick was good and I was a little slow off the start but I felt I was doing well until about halfway. I felt myself start to falter but kept going and slowed down. I was not going to have any drops. I just knew that this was going to make my legs tired for the farmer’s walk. I finished the yoke and took my time to get to the handles. I knew that this was going to be hard and I had one shot at the pick. This was one of the slowest picks I’ve had on these farmer’s handles. I think I accidentally had some of my right foot on the bottom of the one implement (shouldn’t be an issue with the implements at Nationals) so that might have added some additional resistance. The effort meant that if I dropped these, I wasn’t getting them back up. I was definitely moving slow. Video it looks like I was walking all over the place. About halfway through this run, I felt the handles settle lower in my hand. I heard someone yell don’t drop them. It was a weird sensation as all I could feel was weight in my hands, like no other awareness of my body. But I finished the course. I was just dead and after that (but still enough presence of mind to flip double middle fingers). Then on to sandbag rows. Same as last time, three sets of five up to a 5rm with up to 10lbs more than last time. I put on the copper sleeve for this and kept it on the rest of the day. Biceps still a bit tender so keeping an eye on it as I did these. These felt better compared to last time and I was using more weight on the two heavier sets. Not happy that the biceps is still tender but happy that the weight was feeling better. Husafel stone again. I guess I shouldn’t say again as there was a big change here as I was using a different husafel stone. The previous weekend, I had brought my BiggDoggStrongg husafel out my garage to the gym (this was pain to do in the morning by myself). The dimensions are closer to the competition one and it is chain loaded so the weight is at the bottom. I wanted to try and mimic contest conditions since no gloves or tape on forearms allowed. My only concern was if there was going to be enough chains to get to contest weight. If not, then I’d mess around with the thinner one with sharp edges. As luck would have it, there was enough chain to get with 30lbs of what I needed for the top set and there were enough tiny plates that would fit to reach the quota. Plan same as last time except I was to do the contest weight for two runs this time. Chalked up my forearms and hands and got to work. First set I did front carry style. I was expecting to but I picked it off the platform and it felt so comfortable that I just did it. Right biceps didn’t particular care for this style so I made sure to do staggered the next set. That went smoothly as well. I really didn’t know what to expect with this husafel stone so I was happy it felt comfortable. Then on to the top sets. I was planning for anything from dropping it right at the start to walking to the next county. My grip felt pretty secured on that first set. I just told myself that as long as I made two lengths on both sets, it would be a job well done. But I got a third and ended up almost halfway down for a fourth. I wasn’t expecting this after how the last two sessions have gone at this weight. Second best distance I’ve done with this weight. Any distance on the second set was going to be just gravy for total time and distance with the stone. Grinded out three lengths and dropped it on the turn. So good work here going into Nationals. Definitely some confidence restored. Last item of the day was a max distance sled drag. I had all these weights out from the farmer’s walk earlier so I just put those on minus a pair of 25lbs plates. This added 40lbs to the sled from last time. Don’t know what I was thinking but I got set and started the slow and steady set. Just kept telling myself to keep moving over and over until the timer went. Put away all the stuff I had out which took about 20 minutes before driving home to stretch and recover. One more hard week to go.
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