October 29, 2020 – Week 11, Day 2

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
Goblet Squats to Box (15”)
40x15
40x15
 
1” Platform Deadlifts w/ bands
No Bands
45x10
135x5
Added Bands (+8lbs bottom/+46lbs top)
155x1
205x1
245x1
295x1
335x1
385x1
425x1
Added Straps
475x1
520x1
520x1
520x1
520x1
520x1
 
Ab Wheel
bwx24
 
Paused Side Plank Raises
bwx25/25
 
Stretching
 
Comments: I was a bit low energy going into this workout but reading my thoughts from a four weeks ago, I seem in a much better place mentally. I seem a little more restful with sleep. Cold and rainy today. Sticking with just the shorts and t-shirt despite the temperature drop as I know I let off a lot of heat once I’m warmed up in the garage or house. Didn’t care for the wet ground during warm-ups on some things. Knees seemed to be ok. I had already moved stuff around earlier in the day. Didn’t need to move as much stuff since lightest band tension week for the deadlifts. Goblet squats to start things off. Knees didn’t feel as creaky and my hips seem to be going through the motions well. As with last week, second set felt better. Noticed a skinny earthworm near my setup in the garage where I was doing the goblet squats. Paid that no mind and just watched my step. Deadlifting after that. Aiming for just 5lbs more on last time as I know I’m near the end of the wick I’m burning on these. Yes I ended the last pull last session on high but it was a bit more agitation than normal. For whatever reason, I seemed to be hesitating with my setup a little as far as getting the right tightness. Kind of the same thing I had with farmer’s walk on the pick. It’s like I don’t have hamstrings, just quads. I’m not sure if this is what I feel like when my hamstrings are beat to hell or what. Stuff was feeling heavy quicker than I wanted. I thankfully didn’t have a bad of a lower back pump after the warming up stuff as I usually do. I’ve noticed fatigue in my grip over the cycles. This time, despite stuff feeling heavy in the hands, my grip was secure. I had to set down 425lbs right away last time and this time I could hold it fine. Even though the bar speed felt slower. I knew this was going to be a long night when 475lbs felt like how I hoped 520lbs was not going to feel like. I was seriously worried that I wasn’t going to be able to budge the weight for 1, let alone 5. Woof. I got set for that first pull with 520lbs and it was slow. My neck could feel the strain on that one. My second pull managed to be much quicker but still slow. It ended up being my fastest pull which had been slower than my slowest pull when this combo was in the rotation. Not sure what happened with my bracing to break the weight off the floor on the third lift but it got a little too far out in front of me. I was able to course correct for the last two pulls but they were still awful. I really strained today and I guess I should be pleased that did for multiple lifts and didn’t have my form break. I can also say that I didn’t feel like quitting like I did months ago when 455lbs felt difficult. No pain for the lower back, just super tight as well as my hamstrings. My left hamstring has been really tight the past 2-3 weeks and been massaging and foam rolling. Ugh, why is this getting stronger stuff so hard on deadlifts? Did the usual get a big swig of drink and tear down before finishing up with abdominal stuff. Taking the platform away, I found the earthworm again. Stupid bastard had slithered under the platform I was standing on for the deadlifts and was flattened into the thinnest object in the known universe. Sigh. I was glad to move onto abdominal stuff. Ab wheel felt nice this time. Easy. I lost count and was worried that I would match last time so I did an extra rep. Good thing as I had been one short so I got the planned 1 rep increase. I could’ve done several more. Side plank raises after that. These don’t get much easier since I have to support myself the entire time so time under tension is tough. Ate pot roast and then stretched before icing my knees before bed.

October 27, 2020 – Week 11, Day 1

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
Lock Big 3
10’sx10/10’sx10/10’sx10
 
Axle Clean and Push Presses
32x1
52x1
72x1
92x1
112x1
132x1
152x1
172x1
192x1
212x1
232x1
 
Axle Push Presses
232x2
232x2
232x2
232x2
232x2
 
Rack Chins (yoke, straps)
bwx5
bwx16
bwx16
bwx15
 
Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses
10’sx15
40’sx10
70’sx20
70’sx15
70’sx15
 
Band External Rotations
µbx25/25
 
Stretching
 
Comments: It has been damp and rainy the past two days. Today it decided to be sunny for a bit. Enough to dry things out and my garage lights were working again. Been pretty lucky with weather these past few months with not having to change up my workout routine days training outside in the elements. Lower back on the left side still a bit stiff from sandbag. To be expected. Getting dark out sooner so the sun that was out was mostly gone by the time I started doing the warm-ups. The one drill is a bear for the knee health. It wasn’t so bad when I was doing like half the depth/ROM but it is an event in its own right. Rest of the prep is pretty easy compared to it. I can tell my conditioning to the reps is getting better. My left shoulder is still not a fan of parts of the dumbbell stuff but it is getting better. More manageable. The issues feel less each time and I’m feeling like I’m better at control and constant tension. Hardest to do that on the first of the three. Axle for today. Finally working up to a weight that has some heft to it. Rather than do just the 15lbs increase to top weight, I went with the actual percentage (75%) so that required 2lbs more. It was getting dark out pretty quick so I was trying to make haste. Mostly good on this. My plan was to implement a belt for the last set. I needed to see if my new belt would work or not for axle clean and press. My last weight jump prior to the top weight didn’t go smoothly. I was bit more methodical on the top weight so no issues there. It was getting really dark and brought out a little halogen lantern so that it wasn’t completely pitch black besides the lights from the windows and patio. Push pressing out of the rack. Not sure why unracking feels weird on my knees versus catching in the rack from a clean. I felt some hesitancy on that first rep. Video says these were all easy reps. I think the third set I was off to the one side a little as my left shoulder felt a bit stiff. Hard to gauge with no knurling at night. Not sure if the last set was the fastest but it felt like my best and strongest reps. Into the garage with some light on the subject. Rack chins again. As discussed, going up a rep on each set for progression. Something seems to have clicked after last time’s session as I was feeling good on these and was doing some good constant tension for a majority of each set. I could feel fatigue building each set and my lower biceps were feeling stress. Not like a bad stress. Like the joints and ligaments were getting a good workout with blood flow. Incline dumbbell benching after that. Making sure I got the reps I was supposed to this time around. These felt a little tough this time. Maybe because getting into good weight on the push pressing. 193lbs strict pressing is quite different from 232lbs push pressing with same volume. Video suggests that the difficulty was in my head. Making sure I’m pressing in a plane of motion to recruit the upper chest and shoulders. No real funky feeling like last time to distract me. Definitely feeling the chest on these today. I think I figured out the band rotations thing. I do them at the end of every upper body workout but noticing that they are tougher to do after incline benching versus slingshot dips. One requires more external rotator recruitment I guess haha. So as would be the case, they felt tough today. More so the one side than the other but both really close in difficulty. Stretched and cooked dinner and iced the knees. They are going to need it.

October 24, 2020 – Week 10, Day 3

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
Titan Fitness Farmer’s Walk
90x50’ in 5.23 seconds
140x50’ in 6.08 seconds
190x50’ in 6.65 seconds
240x50’ in 7.79 seconds
240x50’ in 7.30 seconds

Sandbag Rows (long ways)
175x8
225x5
275x5
 
Sandbag Loads (62”)
225x1
275x1
313x1
313x1
313x1
313x1
313x1

Stretching
 
Comments: Could feel some of the DOMS from training on Thursday. I made sure to do soft tissue work and ice Friday. I had planned to do 2 ice sessions but I felt exhausted and figured it was best to get sleep rather than stay up another 30 minutes. Sleep has been a little off this week I think due to the temperatures going back up and not having my A/C on. Who knows. All I can say is that I slept like the dead last night and would’ve kept sleeping if my father didn’t stop over with the power washer haha. But I knew that I needed to get up and actually train today. Restorative sleep leaves me feeling stiff until I’m up and about and wake up. Maybe I’m just always tense when awake? Leaves are coming down now so had piles that I couldn’t just sweep to the curb. Walking felt fine and warm-ups were good. Had to do a bit of raking to make a path for farmer’s walk stuff. Followed up with some sweeping to move the debris that I couldn’t get with the rack. Some of the piles were heavier and thicker due to grass clippings so I did have to adjust the course from what it usually is like I did last week with yoke. My knees were a little achier than I would’ve liked but I think it was more my tight hamstrings so I did an extra run with the empty handles to work up to speed. As has been the case, working up to 10lbs more per hand then last time for 2 sets of 50’. I wanted to keep it to 50lbs jumps so I started with lighter than I usually do for the first run. I also wanted to have the same weights as last time for working up to get an idea of how I was doing. I was slightly slower than last time on those two runs compared to last time. Fractions of a second. I was working on bracing for the pick. I didn’t feel like I was getting the tension in the hamstrings for the pick up. Maybe just in my head. Also trying to think if it makes more sense to start narrower on the pick. Might make the pick easier but would result in a slower start to getting into the stance for moving with the weight efficiently. The other way may be tougher pick but I’m able to start moving right away into the moving. This is still less than 80% of my best so hard to guess off of this. The yoke and farmer’s walk have felt heavy but I’ve been assured that this is from not going heavy for many months and these will feel like normal in due time. I’m moving faster even if stuff feels heavy so that is something. First set with 240lbs was faster than my first run with 230lbs last time. I had a little bit of spittle from the forced breathing haha. Second run with the weight felt better and was faster but I was hoping it was a little faster than it was. Still under 8 seconds on both runs. Into the garage after cleaning up the farmer’s walks for sandbags. Started things off with sandbag rows. These felt good today. First set same as usual. Dropped reps for the second set as another set was added. The 275lbs sandbag was added to this since I’ve moved up in sandbag weight for the loads. Wasn’t too sure how these would feel as it has been a while since I’ve done rows this heavy. I feel I could’ve double the reps on this so that was a confidence boost there. Then it was time for sandbag loads. Plan today was the 313lbs sandbag for 5 singles. Did the 225lbs and 275lbs for a single to warm-up. 313lbs would be the heaviest sandbag I’ve attempted to lift by 7lbs. This would be my first time trying to lift the 2-ply Cerberus bags as well. I’m not a fan of the first style as every single one of them broke. These seem to be up to snuff so far. I messed around with it a little to make sure I could get a grip on it. I didn’t think lapping it would be that bad but no idea when it comes to extension and load. This is going to be the easiest week with this bag as the plan was to do EOMOM instead of the usual EMOM. So essentially 2 minutes rest between lifts. Should give me time in case I make mistakes and not feel penalized by losing rest. Because honestly, I had no idea if I could get full extension with this. The 306lbs bag I had was smaller and denser due to lead shot. The fabric on this isn’t as coarse feeling. I took my time with that first single and it went over smoothly. Good sign. I was not expecting this to me stressing the wrists as much as I was but this is a wider implement than I usually use so understandable. I felt that I could lap a +400lbs sandbag with how this weight felt. 2 minutes felt like a long rest period at the start. Second rep went up better than the first now that I knew I could do it. I’m not entirely sure what happened on the third one as it seemed to get caught on my shins as I was picking it up which made it much slower and harder to lap. Maybe I do need the 2 minute rests. I got a little saucy on the fourth rep. I put on “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes to be funny and amuse myself. Ended up being my best lift of the day. That arrogance caught up to me on the last lift. I relaxed in the lap so that sandbag wasn’t as firm to my body and it was short on the load. I didn’t drop it and attempted again and it got stuck. I ended up having to just shove it over. Ugh, not how I wanted to end the session. At least I didn’t complete miss or drop it. My back was going to feel that misstep though. Put stuff away and stretched before eating dinner. I was feeling wrecked after training and made sure to ice my knees twice before going to bed. I wanted to go to bed earlier but I knew since I had slept in a good bit, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep right away.

October 22, 2020 – Week 10, Day 2

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
Goblet Squats to Box (15”)
40x15
40x15
 
2” Platform Deadlifts w/ bands
No Bands
45x10
135x5
Added Bands (+21lbs bottom/+114lbs top)
95x1
135x1
185x1
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
Added Straps
415x1
460x1
460x1
460x1
460x1
460x1
 
Ab Wheel
bwx23
 
Paused Side Plank Raises
bwx25/25
 
Stretching
 
Comments: My shoulders were really stiff after training Tuesday upon waking Wednesday. Thankfully that stiffness went away. Didn’t end up doing as much soft tissue work as I wanted but I at least got stuff done on my lower back and hamstrings. Stiff got tightness and discomfort in the left side from having the disc bulge pressure but that is to be expected since it took like two weeks to get stuff to settle down enough to be able to traction it with the weighted dips. I’m just glad that even with that going on, it didn’t hamper my training. It has been a very warm week for late October. I had switched to heating after it was getting below 60 in the house but now it is back up to high 60’s, low 70’s and I’m not keen on during the A/C back on haha. Allergies were acting up in the morning but thankfully only nasal spray needed to stop that nonsense. I had made sure to ice my knees yesterday and do so early in the day today. Walking felt ok. Some lower leg aches and stiffness. The knee intensive part of the movement and warm-up stuff is still difficult but I am adapting. The adjustment was stark last time. It is still very tough but it will improve in time. Lights weren’t working today as it had been raining in the early morning so damp so not the best lighting in the garage. I probably should’ve put the fans on to keep from being a sweaty mess but again, might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Goblet squats to start things off today. Achy knees. Second set seemed to feel slightly better. Still getting a lower back pump from these higher reps going from goblet squats to deadlifts but not as bad as it was the last two weeks. Probably due to getting my back to loosen up a tad. Banded deadlifts after that, as has been the case for the past 9 weeks. I had set things up prior to training to cut down on workout time as I have been doing. Like last week, I did a lighter set than I usually do with the bands because I have those 10lbs bumper plates now. More build up sets, more volume added. Now the plan was only to do 5lbs more than last time as this week and next week are hard lifts to do and trying to keep upping the weights each time so that I can keep building. Pulls were actually feeling pretty good so I was thinking that maybe I would be good for a 10lbs jump. I was a little worried that my grip wouldn’t hold up for 365lbs with how humid it was with no chalk. I know I’m not fully recovering as the grip does seem fatigued slightly. The weight felt solid though so I went up 50lbs rather than 40lbs so that I had a better feel for how I was doing once I put on the straps. It didn’t feel as crisp and easy as I would’ve liked so I went back to doing just the planned 5lbs increase on the top singles. The good news is that none of the lifts had the shifty issue. I think I got the stance width figured out to not have that be an issue. Or it could be from having the disc bulge issue resolved and that might have been causing issues. Not 100% sure on that but I think the stance width had something to do with it. This stuff felt heavy. Video seemed to show no real slowing down at any point so that is good. I felt these had to be slower than last time I did this. Actually getting a chance to review on the editing deck showed me that my first pull almost matched my best speed wise last time I did this band and platform combination. The next 3 did slow down a bit with 3rd being slowest and the 4th just behind it. I’m not sure what happened on the last one. I guess I got the switch to flip finally. Maybe because I knew it was the last one. Maybe the song was one that I could attach a good mood to. I had thought I could do that with the other music. Guess not as this was my best pull of the day and it is my fastest pull with this kind of weight compared to the past two sessions with this setup. I felt it was a good one when I did it but never know. So that makes me happy haha. My midsection was just wrecked going into the abdominal work. I think I realize why this is some times. The different height platforms for the pull can make it hard to have a tight belt. I can’t wear my thicker belts at the highest platform. This workout I can wear my newer belt but I can’t get it as tight as I would pulling from the floor or like when I do moving events. So  a little loose and I have to brace a little more. Not that this is a bad thing. It is fine and allows me to rotate that over the band and platform cycle too. Really needed the refreshment break after the pulls in the sweaty garage. I kept my soft belt on while putting away the deadlift stuff to keep midsection happy. So ab wheel was mighty tough to get an extra rep from last week. Still got reps in reserve so it is ok. Side plank raises with pauses are tough more due to the time under tension. Not just the core but my shoulders having to support my own weight the whole time. Sweat factor also haha. Had to take a moment between sides to cool down slightly. Had to do the same after training before I felt I could eat dinner. Stretched after dinner and iced my knees before bed.

October 20, 2020 – Week 10, Day 1

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
Lock Big 3
10’sx10/10’sx10/10’sx10
 
12” Log Clean & Strict Presses
Kettlebells
15’sx5
Log
93x1
113x1
133x1
153x1
173x1
193x1
 
12” Log Strict Presses
193x2
193x2
193x2
193x2
193x2
 
Bench Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows
15’sx15
40’sx10
70’sx15
70’sx15
70’sx15
 
Slingshot Dips
bwx10
bw+25x8
bw+50x5
bw+75x5
bw+100x3
bw+110x12
 
Band External Rotations
µbx25/25
 
Stretching
 
Comments: Feeling slightly more cheerful. Maybe I’m finally feeling better. Could be that my back isn’t so tight after training Saturday. I’m still thinking about things that I don’t feel good or great about but I’m not having it interfere with living day to day. Maybe just another realization that I put too much into strongman or that my focus is strongman and I should stick to what I like doing. I’m not really sure. I feel my focus a bit renewed in that regard. Thinking about getting new equipment or training for other contests. That is at least something but not acting on those whims. Much like when I’m depressed, I don’t want to take a step without thinking it through or over. I don’t need new equipment. I already have a contest (granted who knows what will happen between now and June). None of the other things would fit or make sense without taking away from that contest. The excitement and confidence is good but need to be smart. Walking felt ok. Joints stiff. I made sure to ice the day before and do soft tissue work. Increasing the step height for the one drill made a huge difference in difficulty. Good thing I waited so many weeks before moving up in difficulty. That was exhausting and challenging. Not much to say about the other stuff as it is pretty standard at this point and I’m adapting. Getting a bit better at control on the dumbbells for the shoulder drill. Still tough and the left shoulder doesn’t enjoy it sometimes. But that lack of enjoyment seems to lessen each time. Log clean and strict press to start off the session. Last time I did log, the lapping of the log through me off a little bit with my old log. This is better balanced. I didn’t need to chalk my shirt at all for it to stick. It felt like overkill last time with the grip shirt on. The log is lighter empty and right now with it being this far out from any contest, I’ll stick with this one. The other log may make more sense for a big show with a heavier log or a log that is made by someone that doesn’t know how to make strongman equipment. Shoulders were a little achy today. Temperature is fluctuating again. I had thought about not wearing the copper knee sleeves since it was just strict press today but decided to just to keep joints warm and happy and because I would be doing some deep knee bends to lap and clean the log. I had just started to use my heat as it was below 60 in my house when I woke up a few days ago but it got up to just under 80 last night while training outside. Pressing was easy. Lower back was feeling a little pumped and tight. No hard belt. Plan is to bring that back starting next week for pressing. Pressing out of the rack after that. I had debated taking all the small plates inside during the rests swapping on 25’s but I figured that would take longer and it was getting dark really quick. Pressing was ok I think. Each rep was easy. Shoulders ached a little, mostly the right one. I felt like my positioning was a little off starting the presses on the first rep. Not sure if just standing in place and trying to feel comfortable to just press had me overthinking things. Last set I think was the best. Starting to feel like I can actual press good weights again. Into the garage for the rest of the evenings training. Dumbbell rows with the bench. This is easy stuff. The plan this time being 3x15 and go from there to try and increase the volume slowly each time. No biceps issues of any kind on these today. Sometimes I get it on the right side. Maybe because the reps per set were lower and not as much fatigue? I didn’t miscount the reps like I did with incline dumbbell benching last week haha. Slingshot dips after that. This was changed a bit from previous weeks. Previously, only a few sets and trying to increase the reps. Now, several warm-up sets and then doing a set of 8-12 reps. Goal being the 12 and then adding like 5lbs to next session. So top weight here being just 10lbs more than what I’ve been doing so should be easy. I was looking forward to these not because of the pressing and triceps but the spinal traction effect. My lower back has calmed down a good bit so I figured that it would be receptive to these with a little weight to help get that last bit of discomfort (like I got part of my spine in my back pocket) to go away. It seemed to do that after the first two sets. I know it will take a little for the rest of the tightness to calm down now that everything is where it should be. I forget sometimes how much pressure this exercise puts on my body when it is pulling down as I can get lightheaded if I’m not watching my breathing. Had some of that working up to the top weight. Top set no issues and felt strong. Band external rotations to end the evening. Both sides felt strong this session. The burning sensation was only there for like the last five reps when usually it creeps in about half way into each set. Stretched and ate a big pot roast for dinner. Iced the knees as well before bed.

October 17, 2020 – Week 9, Day 3

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)
 
Mobility Prep
 
NY Barbell Yoke
180x50’ in 5.47 seconds
270x50’ in 5.37 seconds
360x50’ in 6.19 seconds
450x50’ in 6.64 seconds
500x25’ in 4.29 seconds
540x25’ in 4.33 seconds
580x50’ in 7.58 seconds
580x50’ in 8.22 seconds
 
Sandbag Rows
175x8
225x8
 
Stone of Steel Loads (62”, tacky towel)
140x1
185.5x1
230x1
274.5x1
318x1
318x1
318x1
318x1
318x1
 
Stretching
 
Comments: These are strange times. Lower back, hips, knees are stiff and/or achy. The lower back stuff isn’t as bad as it was at the end of training two weeks ago so it is tolerable. Hamstrings are tight. I didn’t ice them the day before but I did make a point of foam rolling them out for a good bit the day before. I guess I didn’t ice my knees as I figured if I was needing to do that every day, isn’t that an issue? But I guess I need to keep up daily maintenance to keep going. I’d like to get in 12 weeks without having to take an easy day or week. Maybe the other aches are taking my mind off the elbow and shoulder stuff or that is actually finally recovering and healing. But damn, should it be taking almost 2 months for stuff to recover? I’m getting older and I feel like I’m already 40 with the aches. Late start to the day as is usually the case for Saturday training at home. Cooler than I expected but that is more my house taking a long time to heat up when it is cold at night and gets warmer in the afternoon. My body was feeling really stiff too after getting a lot of sleep. Joints achy walking. Catching last day of nationals on livestream. Some regrets not trying this year but I think it was the smart decision. Training weights are mostly around 70% of contest. I’d have zeroed every event on Day 2 at this time. Over my 1rm on overhead events for reps and top 10 guys pulling over 800lbs raw. It can be mighty discouraging. And outside of the ability aspect of myself (past four months have been rough mentally) I’m concerned that it could be a “super spreader” as the proposed guidelines advertised for safety weren’t enforced or followed. I remember how sick I got from 2017 Nats with the flu. Any ways, on to training. Movement prep mostly good. I feel I can progress slightly on the knee rehab/prehab stuff for next week. So yoke for this training. As mentioned, dropping to top weight for 2 sets now. My one neighbor had a leaf pile near her driveway. I usually use the length of street up to that point for marking 50’ as it lines up just right with certain cracks in the concrete. So I didn’t want to keep ruining that pile with the yoke sliding into it on downhill sets, I elected to move the course up the street a good bit. So lot of sweeping up debris out of the way and off my own driveway to make moving weights on the hand truck easier. Knees achier than usual on yoke today so it took a bit of warming up. My quads felt “flabby” on the first set. No other way to really describe it. Didn’t feel solid. I will say that I’m not noticing calf stress like usual on moving events as I have the past few weeks and I think that has to do with the calf exercise change in the mobility warm-ups. Also took a few sets of yoke for my traps and shoulders to not be so tense. Second set felt fine. Set with 450lbs I felt like it was shaking me a lot and eventually near the end I just let go of the yoke rather than fighting it. Ended up being a little slower than I had thought it felt. Since only two top sets, I figured that I had best do the first working set downhill and the last one uphill. Main reason being that it is easier to move the weights back inside with the yoke closer to the driveway. I can’t move the yoke around easy like I can the farmer’s handles with the hand truck. So rather than trying to do an in-between run for 450lbs and 580lbs, I did half runs with smaller jumps. Work on that start speed and get a total of 50’ out of the two runs. First run felt like crap off the start. Better the second run. Working set, I felt like I was moving on that first set. I knew I was slower on the second set by a good bit. I didn’t expect my times to be that much higher than last time. I was hoping I had another training session before I was slowing down this much. But I don’t know these things until later with timing so on to the next thing. So sandbag rows followed after packing stuff up into the garage. Lower back and glutes and abdominals didn’t feel like they did last time so that was a relief. Knees weren’t bothering me either. The sandbag stuff on the other weeks is getting heavier now so sandbag rows on this week are kind of maintenance mode to help with getting warmed up for stone of steel work. Sets of eight and they felt comfortable. Stone of steel time after that. Again, plan being work up to 5 EMOM singles with more weight than last time. Advised 5-10lbs more. I was going with 10lbs (as close as it will let me I guess) as I wanted to have it be plate jumps up to the max 45lbs I can fit in the implement. It has been many weeks to get back up to this weight range. Back and knees weren’t bothering me this time around. Extensions are becoming tough at this point. I was wondering if 4 plates was a bit much with how my last single to warm-up felt. As with last time, I used the old tacky towel and then used the fresher one for the working weight. The toughest one of the day was the first one as I didn’t quite clear the bar and I instinctively grabbed the yoke to shove it over. Picks and lapping felt really easy today. The extension never feels easy. I was hesitating less as I went with the initial pick too. Each single was faster than the previous one. Made dinner, stretched, ate dinner and then finished stretching. Iced my knees before bed.

October 15, 2020 – Week 9, Day 2

5 Minute Walk (.25 miles)

Mobility Prep

Goblet Squats to Box (15”)
40x15
40x15

3” Platform Deadlifts w/ bands
No Bands
45x10
135x5
Added Bands (+32lbs bottom/+162lbs top)

65x1
115x1
155x1
205x1
245x1
295x1
Added Straps

340x1
340x1
340x1
340x1
340x1

Ab Wheel
bwx22

Paused Side Plank Raises
bwx25/25

Stretching

Comments: Still seem to be not hating myself when it comes to training at least. Emotions running high and have to let them out. Trying to distract with television/movies and burying myself into my work. I feel like I’m on the moon most of the time. Lower back still tight and stiff. Knees and aches aching. Hip aches on the left side but I know that is more from the disc compression. Comes and goes. I can still do everything. But it is annoying. Like a constant reminder I’m fragile. Physically and mentally. Little late start. Some of it motivation wise and other bit just behind on eating my meals during the day and wanting to not throw up during training. My abdominals were feeling a little crampy getting ready. Warm up stuff felt mostly good. Lower back was stiff during most of my workout. Goblet squats at least got some blood flow into the back. Knees were a little achy. Hamstrings have been tight. Especially the left one. My right forearm felt like it was going to cramp up on me too. Bodies are weird. I had gotten the deadlift area setup so this didn’t take long to move on to deadlifts. Knees achy here too and lower back really stiff. Oof. So start of another round of the band and platform cycle for deadlifts. Advised to go with 5-10lbs for the progressions this run through. Fatigue is building. Moving events are going up 20lbs each time and volume is increasing on assistance lifts. Just hoping that training is good and doesn’t injury me. Weight without the bands felt heavy and my back was so stiff and pumped. Since I know have the 10lbs bumper plates, I can start lighter with the high band tension as far as weight. Previously, it would be up to 225lbs without weight before adding the bands, otherwise it would be a big jump from no bands to bands. That light of weight against that band tension felt weird. Been a while since I’ve had the chance to warm-up with nearly and empty bar against bands. A long while. Since the 10lbs don’t really fit that great on the barbell, I kept them out a bit and then just added weight. Seemed to work fine. Back and hips seemed ok with the pulls today. Almost like these were making me correct the posture. My last pull without straps was tougher than I thought it would be. I had to put it down right away due to grip going. I realize now that it was 20lbs jump over what I’ve done previously warming up with this tension and the past times I had a hard belt on. So I went with 10lbs jumps for today. My thinking is that this is the lightest feeling of the pulls so I should be good with a 10lbs jump. Probably do 5lbs for the other weeks. Have to see. Almost regretted adding 10lbs to last time weight with that first pull. It was a kind of shift to one side after for the left. I had that issue with last week on two of my lifts. My thinking was my stance was too narrow to allow my hips and knees to track right. I was a little gun shy with initiating the pull the next set but it went how it should as far as a straight pull. No funny business. I’ve been trying to make it a point to do these working set singles with music that I’ve attached meaning to. To keep me focused on what I’m trying to do. Last three pulls felt good. I took my time as I usually do after the deadlifting. I don’t like drinking stuff while pulling because of my stomach. This was a longer break for 2 reasons. 1 was I wanted to keep the lower back brace on longer to keep my back warm and keep it happy and 2, get my dinner ready. I had waited too long for setting up a roast for the evening.  Wasn’t sure how the abdominal work was going to go with how wrecked they felt just putting on my deadlift socks. Aim was just another rep on the ab wheel. Got that easy enough. Paused reps on the side plank raises doesn’t get much easier. Especially with that many reps. It’s like I’m doing a minute side plank while moving with how the supporting arm and shoulders feel. Big dinner right after training and then stretched. I’ll need to make sure I do icing and soft tissue work tomorrow.