December 7, 2022 – Week 7, Day 2

Romanian Deadlifts (beltless, straps, 3-1-1-0 tempo)
135x3
225x3
315x3
405x5
405x5
405x5

Hatfield Bulgarian FFE Split Squats (2”, 5 second eccentrics)
65x3/3
115x10/10
135x10/10

Paused Chest Supported Barbell Rows (4 seconds, straps)
135x3
185x6
185x6
185x6

One Arm Hangs
bw+30x40/40 seconds
bw+30x40/40 seconds

Single Leg Seated Band Hamstring Curls
sbx30/30
sbx30/30

Sled Drags (alternating backwards/straight leg forwards)
195x10 minutes

Stretching
 
Comments: Think just now realizing how much this break from competition focused training was needed. There is a certain stress from continually hitting stuff that is important and isn’t perhaps progressing as it needs to be to achieve what I feel needs to be done to get there. So not doing event specific work or implements (like axle pressing) has probably been beneficial for my mental wellbeing. Lord knows other minor stressors aren’t taking a day off. Still somewhat concerned with the left elbow. Not pain, just the bursitis swelling. Also having some miscommunication issues between pharmacy service and doctor about medication refills. Hopefully it gets sorted out quickly or this could be a very interesting (unpleasant) Christmas. This workout had some changes to exercises as well as exercise order. But starting off the same with tempo rdls again. Again, nothing is telling me to keep these beltless but I am. Figure works stuff and keeps me from overdoing it. The plan for today was 3x5 with 395-405lbs. I knew I was going to be doing 405lbs here. And then report RIR. For whatever reason, I decided to start at 135lbs rather than 95lbs. And that felt comfortable. Enough so I said screw it and did plate jumps up to my working weight rather than 40-50lbs jumps. Not sure why, just felt like it. Still probably would’ve been a good idea to do the triples up to that weight with the 40-50lbs jumps. Right knee was feeling a little sore/tender (Saturday and Monday training) and right hamstring was feeling a little stiff. 405lbs felt fine, even with the big jumps. Perhaps feeling a little heavier than I would’ve liked that first set. I didn’t take more than 3 minutes rest for the second set as I felt that I could manage it with that and then take a little longer for that last set for when the RIR matter. I think knowing that sometimes makes me push harder and make the weight move easier. Those first two sets they were like 2-3RIR (closer to 3) but then that last set it was like 4-5RIR (closer to 5). My understanding is that next week is working to a top set like has been the case with the different variations off the meat and potatoes before swapping over to something else. Unilateral leg work next. The lateral lunges did get replaced but didn’t mean that it was something that was going to be necessarily be easier. The replacement was my choice between doing Bulgarian split squat or more front foot elevated split squats. Well, I guess more an illusion of choice because even the Bulgarian split squat option required front foot elevated. Oh and also these were to be hatfield style with 3-5 seconds eccentric. So heavier weights and lots of control. I’ve been doing the FFE split squats for the past 6 weeks and figured I should do the Bulgarians. Those I felt would put more emphasis on legs and less stress on the ankles of the back leg and knee. I’ve done these before but without added elevation and for 3 seconds for 3x8. But I was going to do 2x10 with 5 seconds and aiming for RPE 7. Warm up in 3-5’s. I did a triple and felt I got the gist. I was kind of surprised I didn’t need to do any mobility stuff to kind of step right into these. These did end up going better than expected. I had an idea what weight I could do and was worried I aimed too high with that first set but turns out it was too light and added 20lbs to get it to be where it needed to be. Right leg felt stronger but was fatiguing faster. Also my left hip/quad was tighter on the left side when the right leg was working. Then it was time for rows. Chest supported barbell rows again but with 3-4 second holds. 3x6 and same RPE plan as last week. I was going to go for 4 seconds on these. I had a feeling that I could pull off 185lbs. Key would be if everything was feeling fine as sometimes stuff aches in the elbows and forearms and then chill out. Kind of that today. Holds are torturous on rows. I’m happy I was able to guess right for these and have good control. Grip work again. Indication was choice but something to alternate with the thick grip frame hold/shrugs. Suggested was one arm hangs or crush grip if I felt that was helping. I was initially thinking the crush grip stuff or other things. I think I was initially adverse to unilateral grip and that my setup at home might be different from the gym where I did these before. Then I was looking at axle stuff or one hand crush grip. And that was what my plan was but then I reconsidered the one arm hangs. This better fit the definition of bang for my buck. It was my bodyweight (which I think has gone down like 10lbs since Nationals) and I can add weight. It’s easy to setup with a challenging weight and it would work my core holding my legs up and control in the upper body keeping myself from swinging around. So I went to that. Plan was to do 30lbs added to the backpack for 2 sets of 30 seconds. But that first set was too easy so I held for another 10 seconds and changed it to 40 seconds. It got a lot harder quickly. So my right hand had no issues with that first set but the left hand was not appreciating the pressure on the skin palm how the bar was hitting. Similar to how it felt when I did these the first time with just body weight. But I got over it and got the other sets done but man was that making the skin of the palms tender. Band hamstrings next. Last week of these I think. Change up with the next exercise coming I guess. These have been nice but I imagine a change up is needed eventually as bands can’t cover actual weight on stuff all the time. Just from seeing how triceps felt from doing bands vs dumbbells for extension work. But finished up strong I feel on these. Hamstrings feeling beat but getting stronger. Then last week of the sled work. I know I sad that last week was by far the darkest, coldest and wettest out it has been when I’ve done these and still true but only because it was warmer tonight but it was just as dark and was even slicker from wet. I was kind of in a rush it seems to get things out and done as I was timing it to a roast in the oven. I forgot to add all the lights I usually do (and turn on the ones I did put on it). This extra 15lbs added from the week before was really noticeable. This was definitely getting into RPE 7 (which was ok for this week as RPE 6 past weeks but could be RPE 6-7 this week). Finished up and put stuff away before eating a roast and then having a pizza as a chaser. Stretched out but didn’t ice anything as I wanted to get to bed a little earlier than I had been to feel better rested in the morning. I’ll try to make up for it tomorrow evening.

December 5, 2022 – Week 7, Day 1

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (2 stage 3 second pauses)
26x3/3
46x3/3
68x3/3
68x3/3
68x3/3
68x3/3
68x3/3

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses (back support)
40’sx5
60’sx3
80’sx8
80’sx8
80’sx8

Band Assisted Pull Ups (2-2-2-0 tempo, pin 15)
sbx10
sbx10
sbx10

Dumbbell Pullovers (3-3-1-0 tempo)
26x3
40x3
56x12 PR+4 reps

Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
40’sx10
40’sx10
40’sx10

Paused Dumbbell Side Bends (3 seconds, staggered stance)
40x3/3
70x15/15
70x15/15

Stretching
 
Comments: Some things just for my own mental notes. One being that still got bursa swelling in the left elbow. That hasn’t gone away but I haven’t mentioned it because it hasn’t been painful, seemed to get noticeably worse or reduce ROM in anything. If it does, then there would be concern. May wait until my annual physical beginning of March to have it be assessed by PCP at that time. The main thing had been pain and reduced ROM when it first started. The other thing being just realizing that I kind of needed 6 weeks of this kind of training to really have some aches and such that were persisting in the second half of last year’s competitive season to abate. Just kind of reinforces that this is important for me to keep doing this as long as I want to and not only to as long as I can. It had been a risk to aim for all the shows I did this year to get to Nationals. But it was a learning lesson. It can be done but really not ideal and doesn’t lead to being at my best but more at enough to hang. Hamstrings feeling worked from the past few sessions. A little frustrated with there not being any other HW signed up at this time for the PA Dutch show. And I know two people from last year aren’t likely competing. Needs to be at least 3 people for it to be a show worth doing as far as qualifying for Nationals 2023. Promoter doesn’t really “promote” shows anymore (well hasn’t for a few years now). Kind of hoping on getting the call up for the Arnold. But time is kind of short to ensure time off available based on seniority. But that’s not stuff I can control right now. So on to training. So starting things off was circus dumbbell again. Appears the plan is a linear progression on these. So same thing as last week but with 10lbs more. There had been slight contact bruising from last week. They hadn’t felt super-duper last week. But generally I seem to get better at these kind of lifts with practice and familiarity. Sometimes it is frightening fast and other times it is kind of gradual. This was neither of those extremes. But crispness and comfort of the movement had definitely improved from the previous week. Less discomfort and quads and knees didn’t get as sore from the explosive movements as last time. It will be interesting to see how this progression goes as far as increasing weight with these multi-phase pauses. And switching to a jerk style press. Left side is still the better side on these. Into the garage for more shoulder work. Seated pressing again. Indication here was the 3x8 with 10lbs more than last week and report back RIR with the intent to build to a top set of 10 over the next few weeks and then merge into viking press (even if not doing Arnold, the show after this has viking press). So this was a little tricky and had to do some lateral thinking here. I got solid dumbbell pairs of 10’s, 40’s and 70’s and then single dumbbells of 80lbs and 95lbs. Everything else has to be plateloaded. My short handle pair is 6lbs empty so light and I only have enough weight using the smaller plates to get it about 70lbs. So that means using 25’s which can cut the ROM a good bit and make shouldering them tough too. But I had an idea to just put a 25’s on the one side. That way I could use the smaller plates for the side that would be hitting my shoulders and the larger plates on my thighs for comfort and more surface area to help kick up into position. Practice and theory different. It felt a little awkward but it appeared to work out of me. I accidentally took slightly shorter than recommended rests and perhaps undersold what I could do as far as RIR based on the videos. Right shoulder was achy again but not as bad as last week. But got it done. Back outside again for band assisted pull-ups. That 2-2-2-0 tempo was going to slow cook me again. Same plan here was 3x8-10 with 3RIR. These are deceptive and hit hard. The first few reps are so easy. I realized on the first set that was accidentally doing a 2 second pause in the bottom of the lift instead of moving right into the next one for the first two reps. I feel for the first two sets that I was sticking with the 3RIR (definitely the first set and close second set). Third set was definitely less than 3RIR (like 1-2RIR) but I think part of it was just trying to get 3x10 on these. The fatigue factor doesn’t feel easier here. Notes indicated adjustments to assistance and tempo if I got 3x10. As much as these are terrible, I think I’d like them to stick around a bit more as they are hitting stuff that normally I can’t hit or doesn’t get hit on regular pull-ups. I also was taking shorter rests than I thought I was like the dumbbell shoulder presses. Back into the garage for the rest of the workout. Pullovers with tempo again and again the idea to be a top set of 8-12 with 2-3RIR. So same weight as last week and try to get more reps. I feel that the pull ups were more reason stuff was sore. Trying my best to not have my right triceps feel like it was going to cramp up on these as I fatigued. Managed to push through that feeling to get 4 more reps this time around. So that was something. Triceps stuff changed to dumbbells. No bands, lying extensions. It has been a bit. I think since my first training cycle and that was with tempo and then after that with the rolling style. This was just regular with no tempo and plan being 3x10-15 with 3-4RIR. I figured I should be able to do 3x10 with 40’s at minimum with everything. It would be less a hassle to setup dumbbells. I’m out of practice on these kinds of extensions. Elbows were achy (more so the left one) and right shoulder as well. Started to feel a bit smoother as the sets progressed. Maybe I should’ve gone lighter and more reps here but results might have been the same as far as feeling. Or need to use even lighter stuff. I guess we’ll see what next week brings here. Last thing was more oblique work. No split squat stuff this week. I guess things are progressing more to each day being more focused on a set thing as opposed to the 3-4 days with everything. Same as last week as far as the plan of staggered stance with holds and such. But I went back to dumbbell just because it would be easier and I felt I needed more weight to really feel things. The left side has a harder time with these. That is the injured side from 2016 anyways. Grip was getting a workout by the end of this session coupled with the TUT on the pull-ups and then hold the dumbbell for these long sets. Put stuff away and stretched out before eating pot roast. Iced my left elbow and right knee before bed.

December 3, 2022 – Week 6, Day 4

Hip Airplanes (0-10-0-10 tempo)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Safety Squat Bar Squats (beltless)
65x10
115x8
155x6
205x4
245x8
250x8
255x8
260x8

One Leg 15” Block Pulls (3-1-1-0 tempo)
65x3/3
105x3/3
145x3/3
185x8/8
185x8/8
185x8/8

Seated Safety Squat Bar Upper Back Goodmornings (5-0-0-5 tempo)
225x60 seconds
225x60 seconds

Backward Sled Drags (uphill)
595x125’

Stretching
 
Comments: Feeling less like I have cold each day now. And if I did have one, it was extremely mild one. The borderline of weak cold or bad allergies. Getting to just sleep in probably helped as well the night before. Still some concerns with the session just because ear stuff can lead to balance issues and this session has quite a bit of balance component to it. Arnold entry was posted but no weights provided on it (assuming athletes actually invited have the weights from seeing others talk about it). Some changes that would benefit me greatly. One is that the one medley sounds like it is just loading and not running with the items and it is a lot of items to load. An event from Day 2 is now Day 3 and the replacement is arm over arm. And the Day 3 events are max circus dumbbell and power stairs with a mystery event too. So I’m pretty much already training for this stuff with prep for both upcoming shows as I’ve previously mentioned. I’d very much like to do the Arnold with these circumstances but have to get the invite from people declining or dropping out. Any ways, on to training. So with the weather as it was (raining off and on with periods of sun), I had to kind of time things in a way that I either got finished before it would rain again, wait until after it rains again or try and do it so that the rain stops at the end when I need it to for the last part of the session. I went with the last option as one would be going too early and the other too late. I also couldn’t go to the strongman gym even if I wanted to for this week because they were running a big powerlifting meet that was both Saturday and Sunday. First thing was hip airplanes. This was the same as last week with it being 3x5. I decided to switch up with side I started out with on these (I usually do the left side to pivot) to see if that helped with the balance issue. My left side tends to be tighter but I seem to always have some balance thing going on with some reps on the right side despite it feeling like the easier side. I’ve pretty much fully committed to using support on these with how much time these are in those positions over a set. Right side felt fine that first set but left side my hips and hamstrings felt tight and my left calf felt like it was going to cramp up trying to keep balance. Thankfully, those sensations lessened as I went. Of course last rep of last set right side I had my one balance issue but progress in that usually I have 2-3 of those over the sets. From there it was on to squats with the ssb. I was initially peeved with what was posted as less weight than the previous week for 4x8. But then looking at it saw that it was actually a range of 235-250lbs. No support gear and report back RIR on the last set. I felt if things felt good as far as adapting to how the bar felt on my back compared to last week that I’d do more warming up reps and do at minimum 245lbs but plan was to either do 245x2x8 and then 250x2x8 or just go up 5lbs a set if feeling really good. Or not. The weight felt decent enough on my back and more reps warming up wasn’t terribly taxing. I was initially concerned that hips might be still too tight but they were fine. Left knee was taking a bit to feel good. As is sometimes the case with squats (especially when I’ve taken a break from them), the first few sets may not be accurate of what I can actually do. Which has sometimes meant repeating sets working up like in the past training cycle. So I knew that basing things off that first set would probably short change myself. Like if I had stuck with 205lbs last week. So 245lbs this week felt harder than I would’ve liked. I decided though to do the 5lbs increase plan on the assumption that it would work out for me. 250lbs felt easier than 245lbs so seemed I called it right. But then 255lbs felt similar to 245lbs after the first three reps and then I was like damn it. 260lbs though I guess I was finally warmed up and serious because this felt like a joke. If I rated the sets for RIR, it would be 1st 5RIR, 2nd +5RIR, 3rd 5RIR and 4th 8-10RIR. Thing is that it can be hard to gauge things on these as there is a point where my core can’t hold the brace well enough at a weight compared to everything else without a hard belt. But that is how it feels at these weights. I just know that squats help at the mid range on pulls as far as the middle back is concerned with the ssb after that one cycle of none and just front squats. Legs felt great but there was something missing. So from there it was on to the single leg block pulls. Indication was last week of these and going from the floor next time. Same tempo and 3x8 plan. No RIR indicated but weight suggested as 175-185lbs. As last week and no RIR, I decided to push it to 185lbs. I felt I could do it but it would be tough. I knew this would be tough as this was harder balance wise than the hip airplanes with support and my grip fatigue. My grip was fatigued a lot more than usual for the week from added grip work on Wednesday and the increased TUT on the zottman curls from the night before. Balance usually seems to be better on my right side for these and as such, usually feels stronger. While balance was still better, fatigue was higher for that side today. Right knee was feeling sore/tender, probably from squats. Manageable. Also noticed at this point that it had started raining again. My hope being that it would stop before I finished my garage training. Grip, lower back and hamstrings were feeling it today, though lower back wasn’t feeling as rough as it did last week. Everything held up on me to the very end. So it would seem I adapted to the squats before the pulls nicely enough as both were harder and heavier plans this week. The next exercise was the seated gms for the upper back. Advised to go lower than last week by adding changes to the tempo. So instead of just a 5ct hold at contraction to also do 5ct eccentric. I was still tempted to keep the same weight as last week but I listened since I’ve not done tempo on these before and who knows how that will affect things. Same 2x60 seconds. Unrack still feels awkward but the actual movement itself is pretty easy. Doubling the time essentially means less reps in the time limit. I’d finish the rep I was on when time went. I do think this is doing more for me vs just the hold at extension but I think I need either more time for the sets (like 2 minutes or more) or to just have set reps to do. But I did like the feeling of the eccentric control. Last thing was sled work. This was why I needed it to stop raining, which it did. But still very damp out despite the sun being out. Notes indicated this was the last week of these and then add in a carry instead. So what was listed was to warm up as needed to RPE 9 for 100-150’. Adjust distance as needed. Because of the street being such and resetting taking like 5 minutes, it was best to set a course that was 150’ with markers at 125’ and 100’ in the event those distances were sufficient. I was going to do 50lbs more than last week but elected to go up 90lbs to push. Warming up was again walking backwards with the handtruck loaded with 180lbs for 3 trips of about 125’. I could tell from the start this would be tough with the road wet from just how the empty sled felt pushing it downhill to the start. This was going to be tough. I had set the start well down the street so that I’d finish near my driveway for ease putting things away. But that also meant that the start would be harder because of the road down that way. So hard start and a hard end if I went past the 125’ mark. I was worried I made a big mistake when I started as things were really slow going. The nylon rope was starting to slip and I ended up wrapping it around my hands to take the grip out of it. I got a good pace eventually but then I slipped on a wet twig and fell on my butt. Ugh. Got back up and collected myself and got going again. With how this started, I was feeling like I’d not get to 50’ but things started to go well and I saw I passed 100’ and figured I could do 125’. Legs started to get pumped at that point and I stopped there as I knew the last 25’ would be about as tough as the start was and this was fine for RPE 9 as doing that would be RPE 10 with the current road conditions and my fatigue from the fight to just get to this point. Drank a protein shake and put stuff away before stretching out.

December 2, 2022 – Week 6, Day 3

Swiss Bar Incline Bench Presses (3-1-X-0 tempo)
60x3
90x3
120x3
150x3
185x8
167x8
167x8

One Arm Standing/Braced Dumbbell Rows (3-3-X-0 tempo)
64x3/3
90x3/3
116x8/8
116x8/8
116x8/8

Dumbbell Floor Presses (2 second eccentrics)
40’sx25
46’sx25

Paused Band Face Pulls (2 seconds)
sbx18
sbx16
sbx15

Dumbbell Zottman Curls (5 second eccentrics)
26’sx10
26’sx10
26’sx10

Stretching
 
Comments: Some slight concerns going into this workout. I mentioned feeling like a slight cold was starting up end of last workout. Feeling like that was the case the following day and maybe ear ache/infection. Was tempted to do Dayquil to get through that day but going for a walk to clear my lungs out and eat some hot food at lunch usually is enough to feel right enough. Then hips felt stiff and tight after work so that was also strange. But I figured that a good night’s sleep would be enough to feel good for the next day. Especially since pretty much upper body session. Getting through the week of work and time to train. Still a bit jarring to have it be dark this early on top of it being colder. Swiss bar incline bench with tempo worker again. This would appear to be the last week of this particular setup, whether that mean no tempo or different exercise entirely. I’ve been digging this exercise. It has felt like it improves and isn’t feeling like dependent on my fatigue or how my shoulders and neck are. So as seems to be the case when a main variation changes up, top set with less RIR and then 10% drop with matching reps for two sets. Just like with the half kneeling presses last week with tempo. So listed was top set of 6-8 with 1-2RIR. Thinking on things here, I felt that 180lbs would be what I could do. It would depended on how things felt warming up honestly. Started heavier just so 30lbs jumps would feel right. First set is always so easy and then the next jumps might be harder. But I think realizing that the second set was 90lbs had me feeling that this was comfortable. As the last set before top set, I decided to add 5lbs to my top set. I had felt that 180lbs was guaranteed 8 reps so 5lbs more would be a test. Joints felt a little achy/stiff but locking out was still going strong. I feel I cut things close here with how fatigue was feeling in the shoulders and chest with the holds and slow descents. I figured that the down sets would be hard even with drop in weight because of how exhausting extra reps are on these with tempo work. These sets all felt about the same by the end difficulty wise. Rest after that was just getting everything from outside cleaned up and then get ready for the work in the garage. One arm rows again. Same as last week with the tempo and reps and difficulty. I felt that with the lower reps that I felt stronger and would be able to get to the weight I had kind of expected to use the very first week with the handle and both sets of my overweight 25’s. Pleased to see that this 6lbs increase felt about the same as the weight the week before. Left side is slow to start and right side fatigues faster. I think I was a slightly worried that there would be grip fatigue being more an issue this session with the thick grip frame stuff from the previous workout. Got through these. I was really kind of feeling myself here with how pumped up my arms were feeling after this combo of incline benching and dumbbell rows with tempo. Heavy stuff done and on to the lighter stuff as has been the case for this session.  Change up here was to do floor pressing with dumbbells. I think I’ve tried these before or these were planned previously but something came up. Plan here was 2x20-25 with 1-2ct eccentrics to keep it light to get used to it as new and not to bounce reps off the floor. I think I’ve avoided these because difficulty of using heavy enough weights by myself with getting the dumbbells into position. I was only expecting to use 40lbs dumbbells on this so I felt that the getting into position part wouldn’t be that big a problem. It felt really light up until 15 reps but then fatigue started to hard in the lockouts. But still very easy. Too easy I felt and figured that I should go heavier to see how my plateloaded handles would feel to get into position and dismount. It is different for sure so it was a good thing to test. More fatigue for that second set. But expected as these kinds of reps tend to get me fatigued hard on upper body stuff with pressing focused on triceps. Put that stuff away and it was time for band face pulls. Indication this was the last week of these. As it has been, 3x15-20 with 1-2ct holds. I wanted to test out strong band on these. I generally don’t use this much band tension as always has felt like too much biceps in the past but feeling strong and improving on these. It took my like 5 attempts to get used to the bands. The issue was that the tension was such that it was pulling me off balance on the eccentric. Eventually I got it figured out via staggered stance and off to the side being even better. I alternated positions between sets to kind of even out balance issues if that was a thing, with the last set being more of a squared up stance. I’ve done more reps with this band in the past but not with any holds. Then the last thing was biceps. So these were the same but change from last week. Indication was not to go much heavier than I was already doing at this point but to focus more on control of the turn over in position and the eccentrics on these zottman curls. I actually lowered the weights down after seeing the suggested was to do 3-5ct eccentrics. Considering the amount of RIR to be left, I knew that even what I was attempting would be challenging. Not the lifting part, the lowering part. Of course going for 5 second lowerings. Tough but I managed it. These feel better on the left side vs right side, not that it is uncomfortable. Just that tighter on the right side with the shoulder. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching out. Hopefully a good night’s sleep will have me ready for another session tomorrow.

November 30, 2022 – Week 6, Day 2

Romanian Deadlifts (beltless, straps, 3-1-1-0 tempo)
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x8
385x8

Paused Chest Supported Barbell Rows (2 seconds, straps)
135x3
175x3
215x8
215x8
215x8

Dumbbell Lateral Lunges
40’sx3/3
40’sx3/3
70’sx10/10
70’sx10/10
70’sx10/10

Titan Fitness Frame Shrugs (Fat Gripz Extremes)
205x30 seconds
205x30 seconds

Single Leg Seated Band Hamstring Curls
sbx30/30
sbx30/30

Sled Drags (alternating backwards/straight leg forwards)
180x10 minutes

Stretching
 
Comments: Last workout for November and then comes the last month of the year. Maybe I spoke too soon on the pullovers. Lat inserts and intercostals/upper abs were sore the next day. I’m leaning more towards the tempo band assisted pull-ups since that got better stretch and required a good bit of contraction to hold and control my body. Sore enough that I was worried that it would hamper my ability to brace for the heavy stuff today. Also feeling a little like a cold is starting. I had thought I was managing my stress better but oh well. Starting things off with tempo rdls again. Still staying beltless at this point. Plan here was to do 2x8 with 365-385lbs. My plan was to do 365lbs the first set and based on feel go for 385lbs the second set. 385lbs is the most weight I’ve done for reps on rdls without a belt of any kind with some kind of tempo modification done. Stuff wasn’t feeling as easy I’d like it to feel though working up. 40-50lbs jumps and triples all the way up. That first set, 365lbs did feel challenging enough to stay there. But it also felt better than the 315lbs before felt. I was allowed longer rest and considering how last week my second set felt the strongest, I took a chance on the 20lbs jump. It was the right call as it felt about the same. Definitely had 3RIR and maybe another rep. I very much like these in my training for off season so even with the tedium of that kind of training, these are something that keeps me interested. Then it was time for rows. Chest supported barbell rows again with 2 second holds. 3x8 at RPE 7-8. Plan was to increase weight from last time by 5-10%. Calculating that is when I realized I made a mistake last week. I thought I was doing 189lbs but it was actually 199lbs. So not as out of practice I guess as I thought. So had to correct that in the training app and that meant a decent jump. I felt that I needed all the working up sets last time to get used to the movement but that not the case this time. Able to jump right into 135lbs. Form felt better and crisp. Decided there to do 40lbs jumps and do 215lbs, which is getting into PR territory on these. Less wrist strain on these as well. The one time where thumbless with straps works here. I don’t really need to do that if it wasn’t for the holds on these. So 16lbs more than last week but feeling easier. These rows and such seem to come back fast. Lateral lunges were next on the agenda. Ugh. Same as last week. I was tempted to try and find a way to setup the elevated step safely so I didn’t have to do these nonstop style but it wasn’t worth it. Just suck it up and get it done. Lot of reps with weight and moving fast. I was gasping for air after these last time so hope was that I could control that better this time. I condition to that decently but mentally it is a tough thing to embrace. Hope that I adapted from the experience last week. Mobility stuff and then didn’t bother with my bodyweight or lighter than 40’s. Did a second set at 40lbs as knees slightly achy that first set. Found a decent song that was fairly long so chance to do all sets during that song if I was able to handle the 90-120 second rests I couldn’t hack last week with this weight. Still breathing heavy but able to control it better and got through these sticking to the shorter rests. This might be the last week of these and I’m fine with that haha. New addition to this session was grip work of choice. Indication was something that “biggest bang for your buck” but not terribly taxing on spine or CNS. Two sets of whatever that maybe for RPE 7-8. Suggested was plate pinch and doing shrugs. I was not sure what to use as I’m good at holds but need a good bit of weight to get them to be taxing enough and that wouldn’t be the best thing. That doesn’t really need worked as far as my gripping aspect for strongman. Plate pinching I wasn’t sure about as not really a grip that is used in that specific way and I don’t have data to see how it relates to performance on tested things. So I was going to go with the Fat Gripz Extremes on dumbbells and do shrugs with that but then I remembered I had my light frame and assuming the grips weren’t too much, I could do that. I think I’ve tried these before with farmer’s and couldn’t pick up 112lbs many years ago. But I’m stronger. So plan was to do frame shrugs for time with the grips that made the handles 3” thick (measured). I was worried I was going to drop the weight after 10 seconds in from the right hand slipping. But it held up both times for the duration with a few seconds to spare. These seemed to hit the crush and pinch grip as well as forearms. I imagine if this was solid steel that my hands would’ve probably torn but no issues with the hard rubber this wide. Band hamstrings next. Same as last week and sticking to the single leg work on these seated and the same band tension. I adjusted the position of the bench and how I sat on the bench so that I could focus on the contraction more. Full stretch ROM doesn’t really seem to do much on these with the bands as the tension is so low compared to what it is at contraction. Feeling less strain on the whatever it is in the back of the legs that have been tense. And as has been the case, another round of sled work. By far the darkest, coldest and wettest out it has been when I’ve done these. Rain had stopped (checked weather) as plan B was to just alternate backwards and forwards on stopped treadmill on incline. Added weight was noticeable. Appears next week will be the end of these so plan is to finish up on like 200lbs or so. Right leg/quad was definitely showing more fatigue this time around. Had to pause for a moment near the end as a car was coming up the street while I was in the middle of turning around. Put stuff away and stretched out before eating a massive pot roast. Iced knees before bed.

November 28, 2022 – Week 6, Day 1

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (2 stage 3 second pauses)
26x3/3
58x3/3
58x3/3
58x3/3
58x3/3
58x3/3

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Presses (back support)
40’sx5
70’sx10
70’sx10
70’sx10

Band Assisted Pull Ups (2-2-2-0 tempo, pin 15)
sbx10
sbx9
sbx8

Dumbbell Pullovers (3-3-1-0 tempo)
26x3
40x3
56x8

One Arm Overhead Band Triceps Extensions (0-3-0-3 tempo)
lbx12/12
lbx12/12
lbx12/12

Front Foot Elevated Split Squats (4”, 1-3-0-0 tempo)
25’sx3/3
56’sx10/10
56’sx10/10

Paused Side Bends (3 seconds, staggered stance)
25x3/3
50x15/15
50x15/15

Stretching
 
Comments: Starting to pepper in things more event specific at this point. Probably another 2 weeks of this off season training likely. More exercises and changes. Workout balance it didn’t make sense to do a split to the session like before. Also since not doing stuff in the street after work. I was getting decent sleep and food over the holiday break. But work usually sucks hard after any time off as work backs up and other people decide to take off longer than the paid holidays around just about any time there is a scheduled day off. So work had me working. And then upon waking up my right side QL area decided to be inflamed all day for what would appear to be no reason. Not anything I can really put a finger on. So that wasn’t comfortable but I’ve worked through that before. I didn’t want to be taking any anti-inflammatories or Icy Hot at this time. Did some stretching and soft tissue work but that was minimal improvement. So starting things off was circus dumbbell. Been over a year since last did these. I had high hopes last time these were in training for a show but then I decided to sprain my wrist and fracture my elbow a week into training. So hopefully no injuries and progress better and have this be more like how all pressing besides axle went this year. Starting up because event for PA Dutch (140lbs or 180lbs for reps, heavier worth more points) but funny enough this is one of the events for the Arnold (for max) so it does seem like I’ll be hitting most of the stuff for the Arnold prep with the two shows I’m actually signed up for. The setup for the day was to do light pause work with the circus dumbbell. As in 35-40% of what I felt my 1rm would be. I’m not too good with figuring that out by feel. So I decided to take my best push press as opposed to jerk with dumbbell since 2016 reboot (162lbs) and use that to gauge things. These were to be push presses with pauses for 2-3ct in the rack position and again at bottom of dip for leg drive. Since using light weight, this meant using the plateloaded handles since my circus bell is 130lbs empty. Previously, I’ve used my longer and heavier handle since it was similar in length to the actual implement. However, I’m trying out the shorter handle because it would be closer to the actual spacing for my hands and potentially get better distribution of actual feel on the shoulders. Warm up felt fine with smaller plates. The 25’s weren’t comfortable at the start. Shoulders were achy on the right side and elbow was achy on the left side that first set. Got a lot of rust and dust to shake off. As I went, it was clear that left side is a lot more comfortable for me. But need to work both sides. Some reps felt like I didn’t have power in the shoulders and others where everything was perfect and some where it was just ok all around. Quads were getting sore from doing the short explosive movements to launch overhead as well as pausing. Into the garage then to do the next thing. More shoulders. Back supported dumbbell pressing. 3x8-10 with 3-4RIR and advised to do them with control so as not to be relying on rebound. I felt that 70’s would work here. Not worry about plateloaded stuff first week. Use solid dumbbells and hopefully not need any wrist support to shoulder or press. These moved easy enough but my right shoulder was quite achy on these. Same feeling I’ve had on the one arm kneeling presses on that side. As I was going, probably go heavier. But also could’ve done more control on the reps. I think I wanted to make sure I got things done as been a bit since I’ve done these. I figured I’d be good since I’ve done 70’sx12 in the past and done them for 15 without back support during one of the past training preps. Back outside again. Change in the pull-up exercise but by no means easier. Band assisted pull-ups but to do them controlled. So not like I did last week. Suggested was 2-2-2-0 tempo which I knew would be terrible regardless of how much assistance I had. Plan here was 3x8-10 with 4RIR. Needed most band tension I could muster here. These were challenging at this pace. But these were necessary as far as getting full ROM and hitting parts missed with how I’d normally do pull-ups. Back into the garage for pullovers with tempo. Same tempo as last week with idea to be a top set of 8-12 with 2-3RIR, warming up in sets of 3. I was expecting to push these a bit more than I did on that top set but these don’t really feel like they are hitting the lats. Mostly just my triceps trying their best to stabilize. I stopped as I felt like my right triceps was going to cramp up hard if I kept going.  Seems lighter stuff is way to go if trying to get lat control (like band stuff last two cycles) or just mobility to open rib cage and shoulders. Pullover machine used to be a good one too but no place really has those. I got through these and it was back outside for the triceps. Same as last week. I figured I could get 3x12 this time around. Triceps felt sore from the pullovers at the start. There was a fox stalking my backyard and only noticed me when I stopped my set as the band relaxing caused the rack arm to creak loudly. Haven’t seen one around before. As has usually been the case with these band triceps, the left side seems to handle it better. Tempo FFE split squats were up next. Same tempo as last week with suggested another week of them. I had debated going to ssb but seeing as how squats and other things with it are coming back into the mix and grip work is always good in off season, stick to dumbbells. Easier to bail on and easier to setup. Only 2x10 this week here. Plan was to do 56lbs on these assuming stuff felt good after mobility stuff and warming up. If for some reason it felt really easy, then I may try 70lbs. Well not tonight. This was the first time these have truly felt challenging. For the left side, this felt heavy and needed to be careful with lowering to keep knee stable (this is the side that has instability issues still) and then had to make sure not overstretch right side and make sure the soreness I was feeling around the knee was from the circus dumbbell leg drive and not other stuff. I was kind of glad it was just two sets this time. Last thing was more oblique work. This was a bit different. No walking but not lying down stuff either. Side bends with control and holds but staggered stance. As if I were in midstride doing yoke. Plan was 2x10-15 with plenty of RIR and 3ct holds. But note was to use the least amount of resistance that I could feel my obliques working. So a bit of different parameters. To change things up, I used my plateloaded kettlebell handle for these so it was a bit different feel. Hopefully I did these right. These didn’t exacerbate my QL stiffness at least. Put stuff away and ate dinner before stretching out. I usually ice knees but didn’t because I tend to let muscle soreness do its thing and only for tendon aches do I ice things.

November 26, 2022 – Week 5, Day 4

Hip Airplanes (0-10-0-10 tempo)
bwx5/5
bwx5/5
bwx5/5

Safety Squat Bar Squats (beltless)
65x10
115x6
155x3
205x10
225x10
245x10

One Leg 15” Block Pulls (3-1-1-0 tempo)
75x3/3
105x3/3
135x3/3
165x8/8
165x8/8
165x8/8

Seated Safety Squat Bar Upper Back Goodmornings (5 seconds holds)
245x60 seconds
245x60 seconds

Backward Sled Drags (uphill)
505x100’
505x100’

Stretching
 
Comments: Thanksgiving has passed. For the past 9yrs, it kind of has been a period of time where I feel more depressed. Perhaps because less sunlight but I don’t think that is the case for me. There is a lot of pressure and social expectations that come with this time of year which I’d say goes from November to end of December. This was the first holiday season without any grandparents. Last year had been the first year that I hadn’t felt “loss” on the anniversary of Mike’s death and this year was similar to that. Probably helps that no traveling required so I get to rest from social excursions and eat good food with people I’m comfortable with. Feeling somewhat restless in the next upcoming contest. Again, maybe the Arnold. Entry for that won’t be posted for another week or so at the earliest and I’m only going if I get called up to it before the end of December. Going to wait a little longer to attempt to bug the promoter for PA Dutch again (would be the third time since October 31st) as need answers to some things for proper training approach and to find out if they are offering a certain division to see if my sister is able to compete. Also worried no one else has signed up and if not at least 3 people then there is no point in doing the show as it would only qualify for Regionals for 2023 which I already am and already signed up for. Need to continue to be patient as I can. Training for the day was a bit different from last week. Changes are coming with the gradual transition to competition season and Day 4 seems to be the most variable. Started things out setting up Christmas stuff inside. Provides some extra interior lighting. First thing was hip airplanes. This was the same as last week with it being 3x5. Similar to last week in that the lower leg stability issues weren’t so taxing that completely overshadowed the hip mobility component. Not trying to do these free standing with how much TUT there is on these as sets are taking over 2 minutes to do. There were some balance issues with the right leg anchoring on the second set (first and last rep that set). Walking at the creek is certainly a different feeling vs walking on the blacktop. Trying to keep watch on how things recover as I know from previous times where stuff was overstressed that it took a good bit of time for things to recover and feel better (over worked or over stretched). Order of exercise change had squats pop up next rather than the one legged pulls. Plan here was just to see how normal squats would feel being added back in and not to be super taxing. It has been 6 weeks since I’ve done a squat with the bar on my back in any way. Idea here was minimal support gear (so beltless) and do 3x8-10 with 3-5RIR. Further flavor text was that first set should be really easy and that by the third set it should start to feel like work. It was a little tricky to figure out what I was going to end up doing. I’ve not really pushed the beltless squatting and there is a noticeable difference between this ssb I have and the one at the strongman gym. Like this one is 10% harder. So doing some rough estimates came that 250ish would be about the range. So 2 plates on the bar really. So intent was warming up to that for the 3x8-10 depending on feel. But man are squats fatiguing. Not quite used to weight on the back just yet. I ended up reconsidering the plan with how things were feeling and electing to drop the weight to 205lbs and then increase 20lbs each set. Still some stiffness in the lower back on the left side from last week with the sandbag roll ups so my glute on that side was tense and I needed to make sure that was fine before continuing. Unrack of that first “work” set took me aback and I felt that maybe I needed to just use this weight for all the sets. But I know that sometimes the first set isn’t always the best set on things. So I stuck to that second plan of increasing 20lbs a set. This does seem to have been the fight approach as this was feeling better and still in the right effort range. 20lbs more to get the intended set weight and that went well enough too. Normally I put stuff away and move onto the next exercise but this setup was kind of needed for another exercise so I left it setup and got things ready for the next exercise, which was those single leg block pulls. This week had set weight planned here for 3x8. 10lbs more than last week’s top weight and same tempo. These were a good bit tougher after doing the squats first. Fatigue in the legs and possibly different spot in the garage floor might have had something to do with that. Only rep that I felt wasn’t up to par to standards was the last rep of the last set for the left side. It would appear another week of these and then I guess going from the floor. The next exercise I wasn’t expecting to see back, seated gms for the upper back. Timed sets and doing holds at extension. Suggested was 3-5ct. I’ve done 3ct before so went with the 5ct. So I could go lighter as again, not used to weight on my back just yet. I’ve gone decently heavy on these (360lbs) for twice the time as harder sets. 2 plates on the bar seemed about right here. I can definitely go heavier next time on these. Out into the street for the last thing; sled work. Plan here was 2 sets of 100’ at RPE 8. Little hard to gauge what would work here as I’ve been doing most of the sled work downhill to go with the uphill portion of the push for the past few weeks. And most sled work training has been at the strongman gym with turf or terrain that is equally uneven both ways. And since I know there is a marked gradient (like I can do double the distance with same weight downhill vs uphill with same time limit) that I’d need to reset the entire course between runs and try to be as efficient as I can with that. So warming up I did some backwards walking with the handtruck and empty sled. I’ve gone over 100’ with 555lbs uphill before but that was max effort for 75 seconds a few years ago. So I decided to take 50lbs off that and that should hopefully be the right effort needed. First set felt decent and second set felt better still. However, it took about 5 and half minutes to reset course, which was fine. I probably could’ve gone 20lbs heavier on these and still been in the right range. Maybe even 50lbs. Hard to tell with how long the set takes. Put stuff away and then did what should hopefully be the final leaf removal of the year. It made sense to do now as the tarp method would essentially require doing a drag to move the piles to the curb. I had intended to do it tomorrow but weather forecast would have it raining all day and that would’ve been no good. Stretched out before having family dinner. Iced my knees and left elbow before bed.