October 4, 2025 – Week 5, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
275x1
305x2
305x2
305x2
305x2
305x2
305x2

Axle Push Presses (0-1-0-1 tempo)
36x5
66x5
96x3
126x3
156x2
186x2
216x5
216x5
216x5
216x5
216x5

Split Squat Pulses/Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Presses
bwx5/5 – 40’sx5
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds – 80’sx7
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds – 72.5’sx10
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds – 72.5’sx11

Curtsy Lunges/Single Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
bwx6/6 – 26x5/5
bw+50x10/10 -- 40x8/8
bw+50x10/10 -- 40x8/8
bw+50x10/10 -- 40x8/8
bw+50x10/10 -- 40x8/8

Stretching

Comments: I apparently needed even more sleep this weekend compared to last as it was almost noon by the time I got out of bed. Which was fine for this day as the gym wasn’t opening until 6PM due to powerlifting meet so it made sense to just be home and train anyways. I had prepared for that from doing the session at home last weekend as well. Going to need to not do this for the next three weekends since I’m going to be having to change my schedule with the mandated in office every day a month on and month off. Essentially losing 2hrs a day with needing to get up earlier and get to bed earlier as well as also having to adjust my diet during the week for ease and time efficiency. A later start obviously but felt like it took even longer for me to get going compared to last weekend. Foam rolling was needed on the lower legs but not as much as it has sometimes needed. And surprisingly more so the left side this time around. No so much on other things. Foam rolling the area where I might have torn stuff in the left inner thigh/lower quad didn’t aggravate anything. Like I said, it has been weird. Moved on to the neck rehab stuff and that was good. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. From there on to training and starting off with the ssb squats with heels elevated and atg style. The setup last time had not been ideal but it worked. As it was not expected to rain, I figured I would make the effort to use my actual power rack outside instead. Hopefully it would allow me to have the unrack position higher and not be so rough. It was but not by much. I also didn’t lift inside the rack because I didn’t want to ruin the one spider’s web. I had felt guilty accidently ruining it (I forgot it was there) during the week and was glad to see she repaired it. Plan for today was heavier than last time but reducing volume. It had been 5x5 and this was 6x2. Suggested was 285-305lbs. I knew that with the dropping of reps that even if things felt rough, I could do a bit more weight, even with the not so ideal setup with unracking and the raised heels. If I stuck to what I did last week, I was likely going to do 295lbs as then it was just 40-50lbs jumps of quarters and plates. But with it being outside on the sturdier setup and able to get it a little higher, I went with 305lbs. Especially since over 300lbs went so smoothly on the front box squat stuff. Knees were quite stiff and achy today and it took a bit to get them warmed up with squats. I had hoped that doing 30lbs jump for a single was going to be enough to get me used to the heavier weight for the doubles right off the bat but I guess not as I had to take a moment after the first rep to collect myself to do the second rep. But after that, things went about as expected with the doubles and keeping to about 90 seconds rest here. With squats finished, it was pretty easy to move on to axle since rack was already setup, just had to move the goofy stuff out and swap the bar. No rain this week. I was a little nervous here as I was doing yet another push press session. Monday had been an increase in push press frequency and a bit surprising after doing push press on Saturday too. This was still to be the double paused style with in the dip and overhead but changing from triples to sets of five reps. Suggested weight being 205-215lbs. I just went with 1lbs more since it was easier to not deal with the fractional plates (need them for dumbbell stuff). Those extra reps had me nervous as I’ve seen how fatigue builds on these. But I need it. I did take longer rests similar to the eccentric emphasis stuff on Monday to make sure I was recovering. Managed to get through these with only the last rep being one that wasn’t terribly crisp with lockout and having to catch my balance. The longer sets definitely had me thinking on positioning under fatigue so as not to screw up and expend more energy for a good rep. The rest of the workout after that being the supersets. Some changes to these from last week again. As part of letting hips rest (though who knows what actually got upset with me), the split squats were changed to being not having the back leg elevated and to do “pulses”. The pulses being doing just the bottom half of the movement. Same weight but back to 30 seconds here. Since I needed my plateloaded handles for something else, I held on to my 10lbs dumbbells and 10lbs kettlebells at the same time. These were fine and I feel like I got more used to them as I went. The issues this session were with the incline squeeze bench. I was told to do sets of 10 reps with 75-80lbs. I don’t have a pair of solid dumbbells and trying to do above 70lbs on these leads to having to use the 25’s which cuts down the ROM for this kind of press as well as having the “together” portion not as narrow. So the initial thinking was to try using my one 80lbs dumbbell and loading up one handle with 80lbs. It would be for just one session anyways. That didn’t work out so well. The plateloaded handle felt tougher than the solid one and this was ending up being too challenging and I called it at 7 reps. Not happy about that. I couldn’t figure out a way to get the handles to be 75lbs with smaller plates so eventually went with 72.5lbs with the understanding this would be for just this session and never speak of it again. I was thinking of making up for the first set with getting more reps than 10 but apparently I got stopped there when the dumbbells slipped and had to restart the tenth rep to get it. The final set did feel better and I got 11 but couldn’t get a twelfth. Definitely feeling fatigue from the increase weight of all the pressing this week. But still annoyed. Moving on. The superset of curtsy lunges and triceps remained the same but another set added. Additionally, I was told to do 50lbs for the lunges with indication I was to get 4x8 with 40lbs on the triceps. Knees were feeling achy despite the split squat pulses but got better as I went. I had been entertaining doing 70lbs on these from how things had felt last week with the first session but I’m glad I didn’t as these felt quite challenging doing 50lbs for all the sets rather than just the last one working up. I started them this time with the left side rather than right side as well. Was feeling fatigue in the shoulders holding the weights in the racked position the entire time. Triceps extensions felt better this week. Not sure if perhaps the slightly heavier warming up set helped here. I had already resigned to eating dinner early than usual and not trying to squeeze in any meals like last weekend. Took a bit for me to cool down and eat. Stretched out later.

October 1, 2025 – Week 5, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Deadlifts (straps)
136x5
226x3
316x2
366x1
406x1
456x1
496x5

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (24”)
65x6
115x5
165x4
215x3
265x2
315x4
315x4
315x4
315x4

Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps)/Pull Ups/Paused Lying Band Leg Curls (2 seconds)
225x3/bwx3
315x10/bw+10x11/(2)mmbx15
315x10/bw+10x11/(2)mmbx15
315x10/bw+10x9/(2)mmbx15

Sandbag Over Shoulders
225x1/1
225x40 seconds
225x40 seconds
225x40 seconds

Stretching

Comments: I’m leaning more toward something tore in my leg with there feeling like there is strand of knots in it and it feels a lot like how my other leg feels where the muscle had a slight tear. There is more discomfort with my having pressure put on it than actually doing stuff like lifting so it is odd. It isn’t like where with the oblique, hamstring and biceps were it feels like a cramp, there is a weakness and just seems to fatigue faster type deal. Like I said, just keep monitoring things. I’m not in pain and I’m still doing everything and not feeling like I’ve missed a step. I’ve been making sure to do the soft tissue stuff on the non-training days. Work is busy. Foam rolling to start things off and not a lot of was needed besides the tops of my calves here. Neck rehab stuff fine as well. This has been a good warming up for the upper body in what tends to get stiff/tight for me. Not explicitly indicated this time but I did the calf and tib raises again with some glute activation work as well before doing the stretching for lower body. I feel like that makes a better warming up for this kind of session vs what I do for the other days at this time. Deadlifts to start but a change from what I’ve been doing. It has been bendy bar EMOM stuff but not today. Indication what to see where I’m at strength wise so work up to a 5rm on axle. Advised to have it be tough but not a max. So RPE 8.5-9. I was hopeful of what this would be here but I also knew that sometimes just not always on point with deadlifts. I took bigger jumps to start out before going to 40-50lbs jumps with plate quarter plate once I got to using my belts. First two warming up sets felt good but the third it started to feel darn heavy. The thickness of the bar was having me place pressure on the spot on my thigh where it has whatever is going on so not terribly pleasant that. I did feel like my lower back was more involved with taking the stress than I’d have liked but a bit tricky to say if going from flexi bar to deadest possible bar and disadvantaged position had anything to do with that. I used my regular sized plates rather than use the fun stuff like the big wheels and standing on platform as I felt those would probably obscure form on video and I’m really trying to take these cues to heart and get myself to move and feel well. I did not hit max arousal here and I was pretty ho hum for the last single. That isn’t to say I didn’t get amped up for the top set. I really wanted to add a little more to get it to 500lbs or more but I knew it wasn’t wise if I was to not have this be a max set of 5 reps. I do feel like the work with having lockout adjustments to change the stroke here has been helpful with me keeping the pull going. Last rep was a bit slow to lockout and I’d say it was more like 9.5 RPE here as I can’t say 100% that I was good for another rep here. But this is the first time since July that I’ve pulled close to 500lbs from the floor for reps. The time before that I think was February. It has been low 400’s or high 300’s most of the time now. It is the starting point. I know that this can improve as last time I had this as my starting point on barbell, I was able to get to 585lbs for a triple as a PR in contest about 8 weeks later. So now I know and no estimations. Not a lot of volume obviously here but I did need to make sure that I was a recovered from that and that the discomfort was not from pulling weights rather than just the compression of the weight against my thigh. Cleaned up stuff and put stuff together while getting a little fluid in me. On to the ssb front box squats. I was not sure how these would go after heavy pulls. I was also not sure on how the loading on the legs would feel. I was also not sure how the knees would feel too after doing push pressing back to back sessions. So plan for this session was also reduced volume with it being 4x4 and suggested 10-20lbs more than last time. I set things up here so that it was 50lbs jumps working up and then if I wasn’t feeling great, do just 40lbs for the last jump to working weight. I was not sure until I did 265lbs what I was going to do. While nervous about everything besides breathing here, I was feeling strong. Like, wondering why this felt better than last week. I could go to the box under control faster, I wasn’t feeling aches. I don’t know if some of the stuff I’ve been doing has got my ankles not to be so restricted. Just really surprised that 315lbs was feeling and moving as well as it did. Maybe not being so fatigued from many deadlifts vs just doing one tough set. A little longer a break here to setup things for the triset. At this point with how time was going, I elected to scrap my initial dinner plan for something that would be quicker as odds are I’d be eating after 9:00PM on the soonest side of things. Again, slight change here, but only on the leg curl portion. The snatch grip Romanian deadlifts started things off. 315lbs for 3x10. I was advised to try and rotate my hands while strapped in so as to get my lats engaged more. It did seem like I was better with having my glutes engaged. These felt strong but was really feeling my hamstrings (especially the left one). Third set something “shifted” in that hamstring and I started hearing something that sounded like Velcro. Because it was as my stupid fabric belt started coming undone again on the last few reps. Which was annoying. It seems to be only with bracing and bending over so I may need to retire it from being used for deadlifts. Pull ups were next. Same as last week with doing 3 sets of max reps with 10lbs added and goal to increase reps from last time. I feel like I was able to have better control on these this week It probably helped that not raining and it was a little cooler and drier out. Added one rep to the first two sets but no change on the third. The leg curl setup from last time had not been what I was supposed to do so with clarification I got it setup how it should. But of course changing to pauses at contraction each rep. I had initially thought of using what I’ve done in the past on these when treated as their own thing for sets but figured it was probably best to do something I knew I could do as these could be rough with everything else. I probably can do the other band tension I had in mind next time. But this was definitely making my hamstrings tight and pulling on my lower back and hip on the left side. I had to do a little adjustment to get things to crack before I finished up the evening with the sandbag over shoulder. 225lbs had been pretty rough going from the 175lbs bag. Doing it again but now for 40 seconds instead of 30 seconds. I figured I could do another rep in that added time. I made sure I didn’t have too much in my stomach so I didn’t end up barfing a little like last week. Successful there. I also made sure that I taped my wrists a little differently so my wrists didn’t get as sore. Also success. Ms. Funk indicated that I should try to not collapse things when in the lap to keep it higher so as I don’t have to move it as far to do the movement. I don’t think I got that right as I was rushing and overthinking. I think because it is a timed thing that I tend to rush. I didn’t do a warm up last time and I didn’t intend to this week either as the stuff leading up is enough as it stands and trying to not be so drained. The two reps were my first attempt and things were going well but the bag landed weird on after the second rep and I panicked to grab it and it got in my lap oddly and I just couldn’t get it go to one side or the other when extending and it just was stuck there. I eventually just stopped and cursed a little before resetting things and telling myself to calm down. Treat that as warming up. I didn’t have that issue after that with these. Since I figured I’d get odd number of reps, I started with my right side over the first set and then left side over for the second set to start with these alternating sets. I could tell fatigue was hitting me by the last set as I was a bit slow here and I didn’t have enough time to do a fifth rep. I was fine with that since I’d already done an extra and a half before these. Put away the sandbag and got my dinner ready before eating and cleaning up. I’m not looking forward to doing these sessions the next four weeks with having to be commuting.

September 29, 2025 – Week 5, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Push Presses (4 second eccentrics)
26x5
56x3
86x3
116x2
146x2
176x2
206x4
206x4
206x4
206x4
206x4

Breathing Pause 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (2 second eccentrics)
90x3
120x3
150x3
180x5
180x5
180x5
180x5

Alternating + Together Dumbbell Floor Presses
70’sx8(1/1/1)
70’sx8(1/1/1)
70’sx8(1/1/1)

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Dumbbell Presses/Assisted Spanish Squats
55x10/10 – bwx45 seconds
55x10/10 – bwx45 seconds
55x10/10 – bwx45 seconds

Deadstop Pendlay Rows/Band Single Leg Seated Leg Extensions
135x5 
205x10 -- mb+10x20/20
205x10 -- mb+10x20/20
205x10 -- mb+10x20/20

Stretching

Comments: Weight down a few lbs as I kind of expected from not eating as much as I usually do on Saturday but still a bit surprising that about 3lbs difference. This is more for just keeping track and notes so that I don’t have a situation where I don’t realize I’ve dropped like 20lbs over 9 months and wonder why my leverages are all out of whack on events. I’m still not sure what it was that happened or is still happening with the left thigh/hip but it does seem to now be just the thigh in a set area. It is tolerable and not keeping me from doing anything. It could just be something was irritated or I could have had a slight muscle tear. I do have one of those in the other thigh but on the outside area. All I can really do is just monitor things. I did make sure I got some soft tissue done on Sunday to help with recovery as that did seem to help some leading up to Saturday session. Perhaps some but not that much this time around. I was promised/warned of changes with the routine for this coming week. Foam rolling was not really as needed as I was expecting but did need a bit for calves. Neck rehab stuff followed that up and then did some stuff for ankles and knees before doing lower body stretching followed by a dead hang. I did the ankle/knee stuff today because one of the changes to this session was starting off with axle push press instead of strict press. I had not expected to be doing push press twice in one week nor so soon after doing the heaviest I’ve done since world’s (which isn’t really saying much). No pauses like on Saturday but still adding something to screw around with it. And that would be keeping the eccentric accentuation going from the strict presses. We could think of this as just being strict press negatives. I’ve done these fairly recent in training memory (December) so I had some expectation of how these would feel and go. Plan was to do 5x4 at RPE 8ish with 4 second eccentrics. It did take a bit for my knees to accept that I was doing this crap in 48hrs time frame. The eccentrics really sap the energy from me in the upper body to keep the form tight. Trying to focus on what Ms. Funk says with keeping things tight and not losing that tightness as that is when stuff goes out of the groove. Just with how the eccentrics strain is (and this is going up over 100lbs from the strict) I wasn’t sure that my goal of axle and two plates was going to happen. But it did seem to work here. Double rest here as I knew how much those eccentrics take out of me. Third set was the best set here and it felt downright perfect. So good that I was thinking that I was not using enough weight but I thought better of it and it is a good thing as the fatigue was hitting hard and those remaining two sets were the toughest of them. I could feel that I was hopping backwards on those sets with the push drive which if I recall is a timing issue with the drive in lower body and upper body. Fatiguing the shoulders with the slow eccentrics makes that more obvious. I was able to get these done without incident. Where does the time go as I swear it was already looking like 6:30PM at this point when I didn’t think I was that slow going get off my duff from work. From there moving on to the paused log work. This had also been changed up from what I’ve been doing the past four weeks. Still a pause circumstance but intent much different. What I had been doing was pauses for 3 seconds and gradually getting better control of the eccentric and lockouts. These were to be 2 second eccentrics and the doing a “breathing pause”. So push out the air in my lungs and then take a deep breath to rebrace and press up to complete the rep. So closer to a 4 second pause then but one where I’m relaxing and then contracting. So similar to like cleaning and pressing catch for an overhead or having to rebrace if needing to get air for an overhead lift. Like the axle push press, I was told to aim for RPE 8 here. Plan being 4x5. I did 30lbs jumps here and I was kind of hoping I could do 200lbs or more but I felt like maybe I stick to just 15lbs increase on these with switching over. It was good call as while things didn’t feel bad at the start, those last two reps got tough quick on these. I was worried I miscounted an extra rep on the last set but nope, just tough fifth rep there. Moving right along into the garage for more pressing. Alternating floor presses with dumbbells again. Well, kind of. So one change was these weren’t for time like the past four weeks. Just 3x8. But not really in that a rep constituted one press each side and then pressing together. So right, left, both and that is one rep. I was initially uncertain if I could handle the 70’s here for that but after I looked at a video of what I did in 30 seconds and that was more reps than these sets were going to be, I went with that. These were a bit tricky with bracing and switching gears. I’m not sure if the plan here will be to increase the reps or push weight but I’m ready for either. Moving on to the supersets. So as the same as last week with half kneeling presses to start. Bumping reps back up to 10 and told to do 50-55lbs here. For the most part fine but I could tell that if I lost any tightness that a rep would get a little tougher. Had to also stop myself from trying to just bang out the reps like I’ve done. Need to work on the lockouts to be solid. Keep the triceps engaged. Not have core get soft. The other half being the Spanish squats. Consigned to the rope assisted ones with regressions to be able to do it. It had been nice to finally get these to click (albeit the last set) so I was hopeful I could get them to be from the onset this time around. I tested with no knee sleeves and that wasn’t going to happen. Knee sleeves needed. Sets of 45 seconds and I did start a little slow and gingerly but I was doing these much better this time and was feeling like they got better as I went. Something must be wrong with me as I wanted to do them longer as the quads were getting burn here and my mobility and aches were also improving. It just takes a bit to get this setup to work for me. Last thing had a change to it as well. The first half still being the Pendlay rows. Same weight as last time but increasing reps to 10. I did inquire if I should be wearing a belt and was told no so keeping these as they’ve been. No straps added as I like these this way for picking up odd objects. Little bit of knee aches to get into position but better as I went and feeling tension in the hamstrings. I wasn’t sure if I did an extra rep on the last set (I didn’t). The other part was not the walking lunges. Just went I was getting used to those. Changing things up to let my hips rest. So told to do banded single leg extensions. Sets of 20 reps. I had to get a little imaginative here with anchoring. I was having issues with doing just bands and getting things to work so I ended up using my 10lbs ankle weights to keep the bands in place on my legs. These seemed to be fine. I may need to do more band tension (either thicker band or move the table out further). Cooked up dinner and put stuff away. Stretched after eating.

September 27, 2025 – Week 4, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
275x5
275x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

Axle Push Presses (0-1-0-1 tempo)
35x5
65x5
95x3
125x3
155x2
185x2
215x3
215x3
215x3
215x3

Bulgarian Split Squats/Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Presses
bwx5/5 – 40’sx3
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds -- 70’sx12
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds -- 70’sx12
20’sx40 seconds/40 seconds -- 70’sx12

Curtsy Lunges/Single Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
bwx6/6 – 20x6/6
bw+30x10/10 -- 40x8/8
bw+40x10/10 -- 40x8/8
bw+50x10/10 -- 40x8/8

Stretching

Comments: Work was very busy but that had been obvious with this being the week where I had a lot of things scheduled from the week I was told to get my shit together after returning from Ireland. I survived it but it was a lot of effort and I could tell that I was feeling worn down. My weekends at this point feel like when I’m able to recover and I’m not so inclined to wake up early or really do much beyond train on Saturday and then do upkeep for the next week and chores from the previous week on Sunday. I imagine it will be more of a premium with the switch over in schedule after this coming week. I’m still working on figuring out meals for in office. Outside of work crap, I was also cautious with my left hip/inner thigh situation as so far so good with training this week but I was unsure how this session would go as this had been the one that really exacerbated things in the first place. If I needed the sleep last week, I desperately needed it this week as I had a fair number of stress dreams and it was closer to 11:00AM at this point. I was not motivated to leave my house as again, no one was actually training for anything right now, I could do everything at home, and my one friend wasn’t going to be there as in another state for a wedding. I didn’t want to have to deal with traffic honestly and if I got an issue with my leg, I didn’t want to be having to deal with about an hour in the car before home. This was probably not the best day to be obstinate (as looked like some rain) but if this was going to be one, it works. I’ll likely have to do next Saturday at home option because of the powerlifting meet at the strongman gym. So need to see what I have to change or what I can do here. I did entertain going to the local powerlifting gym but decided against it as I’d likely have to make adjustments to things like my squats and the split squats as I know they don’t have an ssb (got a transformer bar that I’ve never used) or something to anchor or elevate my heels. Save myself the $10 and gas. Foam rolling was needed on the lower legs with a lot needed for the right calf. No so much on other things. I did do soft tissue work last night. Moved on to the neck rehab stuff and that was good. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. Not quite the same stuff I had done on Wednesday. From there on to training and starting off with the ssb squats with heels elevated and atg style. I don’t have the ramps here like at the gym that are the solid metal things for car deadlift so I had to improvise with using the hard foam I have and then wearing my lifters. I didn’t feel too comfortable/confident in that setup not going squirrely on me so I put a wood platform with dumbbells weighing it down behind those so it was stable. So that seemed to work. Plan for these was to do 255-275lbs for 5x5. I figured that I’d go for 275lbs here, which could be risky as I tend to find my ssb to be a little more challenging compared to the one at the strongman gym. Notes indicated that I tend to have my upper back collapsed on these. I’m not sure if going to try and override/correct as I kind of felt like that I was tucking it to brace it. One issue with my setup is that I don’t have the best rack inside my garage. I got it for ease of moving around for when COVID stuff closed everything and it was cheap. My outside rack is much better but not as easy to move around and I didn’t want to be moving stuff outside just for squats when it was looking like rain may happen (weather app saying nothing at one point and then 30 minutes later saying it was). With the elevated heels, this had me picking the weight up much lower than I’d like so that made unracking a little unwieldy. Always a little bit of getting used to things with increased weight on squats (been going up like 70lbs since the first week) so breathing takes a set or so and then I’m good. Other than the odd setup, these felt mostly comfortable. I did get a little pitched forward after the fourth rep of the third set and had to catch myself before going for the fifth rep. From there, moved on to axle out of the rack for overhead outside. Of course, it was now raining. And it ended up raining for just as long as I was doing these as it stopped when I was done and putting stuff away out there. But I’ve done overhead in the rain before and it is only really when it is clean and presses that I don’t mess around with that if I can help it. Same setup of triples with pauses at two spots in the movement. I was given the go ahead to increase the weight on these but notes were two less sets and to not get sloppy. The rain/wetness was going to be an added factor here and trying to not get anxious and rush things on these. I do think I’ve gotten better with my rack position that I feel solid and it doesn’t feel crushingly heavy each time. Trying to get it so that there isn’t such a lag between my leg drive and my arms taking over as well. First set I got a little off balance on the second rep at lockout. Second set I think was better in that I calmed down to really think on positioning. I think of all the reps, the first one of the third set was the best at what I wanted to achieve with the first of the fourth set a close second. I definitely have to keep working on the subsequent reps and keeping the position in the dip stable and tight. There is a lot of cues to be focusing on (not nearly as many as Spanish squats haha). This is the one event that I need to really get my abilities and confidence back up if I want to be competitive at any show. The rest of the workout after that being the supersets. Some changes to these from last week. The first one of Bulgarian split squats and the incline squeeze bench still present but slight adjustments. The bss are still time based with same weight as last time with it now being 40 seconds vs 30 seconds. This was the exercise I was truly the most concerned about as I think me going up from bodyweight to 20lbs per hand on these and trying to move like I did from no weight to added weight was partly to blame for the tendon/nerves to get all angry at me last weekend. I managed to get through everything else without issue this week. So I did do some bodyweight only just to make this wasn’t going to be terrible. I did these with control and that seemed to be good when doing them with weight as well. The other half of these was changed with it being rep based vs time based on the pressing. So I had to figure out what I could do for 12 reps here across three sets. I had hit about 19 reps in 30 seconds with the 55lbs last week and 1rm calculators were putting me at about 65lbs for 12 reps. If at a gym, I could be that precise but not at home when I have only one pair of plateloadable handles and my choices for set are 10’s, 40’s and 70’s. I needed the handles for the bss stuff (could do 10’s, 15’s or 25’s here without handles) so I had to hope that I could handle doing my 70’s here for the sets. And thankfully, that did end up being the case here. The last superset for the session also had a change. I was not to do the lateral lunges as those were not conducive to not irritating my inner thigh and hip. Also quite rough on my knees, even with warming up. The new exercise to replace it being curtsy lunges. Never done them and had to look up videos on them. It looks to be like a reverse lunge but with the back leg going across the body. So besides the novelty of it being more emphasis on the one side with angle it was also going to be something of proprioception for me with putting foot behind with it being a fairly new movement for me.  I did these with bodyweight to start out as my knees were quite creaky and I was wondering how I was going to do these but the movement got better. Plan was 3x10. These actually felt comfortable for the most part. I had no idea what I could do weight wise here and I realized I could go heavier after that first set so I did add 10lbs per set. I will have to remember to start with the other side first (assuming still doing these) as that is the side that has a harder time with theses. I did get a little off balance on the last rep of the second set for my lagging side and just had to laugh it off and do it again. The triceps extensions pushing the weight on these aiming for 40lbs with it being 3x6-8. It is tougher for the right side on these but I do like the sensation of the contraction of these, feeling it fully in the belly of the triceps muscle. It was quite late in the afternoon and dare I say early evening that I decided it made more sense to just aim for a slightly earlier dinner than eat something and eat a really late dinner. Stretched out after putting stuff away before getting cleaned up and making dinner. Glad that leg/hip thing wasn’t an issue.

September 24, 2025 – Week 4, Day 2

Dynamic Warm Up

Long Bar Deadlifts (straps)
155x5
215x4
265x3
315x2
365x1
EMOM
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2
415x2

Safety Squat Bar Front Box Squats (24”)
65x6
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x2
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4

Snatch Grip Romanian Deadlifts (straps)/Pull Ups/Concentric Lying Band Leg Curls
135x5
225x3/bwx3
315x9/bw+10x10/2(lb)x15
315x9/bw+10x10/2(lb)x15
315x9/bw+10x9/2(lb)x15

Sandbag Over Shoulders
225x30 seconds
225x30 seconds
225x30 seconds

Stretching

Comments: It has been a busy week with work but there seems to be a light at the end of the week. Walking Tuesday I saw a small garter snake which was neat as I rarely see anything besides squirrels, birds and dogs when out walking. I’ve usually seen dead little snakes from lawn service stuff during the fall so it was good this one was healthy. I’m glad that I didn’t seem to have any issues from Monday training session as far as the hip/thigh thing. My left side shoulder was feeling a little tight/compressed but no muscle soreness. Right knee a little achy and I wonder if that was from the traction and extra effort put in on trying to get Spanish squats to work for me. Soft tissue stuff needed. A lot for my right calf and quads. Neck rehab stuff fine as well. I was advised to implement some ankle stuff in the form of calf and tib raises so I did that with some glute activation work as well before doing the stretching for lower body. I was a little slow going with getting to training. I don’t know why. Maybe because I think this workout doesn’t take that long on paper but I know better that it does. Starting things off with the long ass bar deadlifts. Same as last time with the weight and increasing the EMOM to 10x2. I was told to film from the side fully this time so that Ms. Funk could review my form better when I had mentioned my knees had gotten a little raw when I had to do 12x3 session two weeks earlier. I had to rotate the bar 90 degrees so that I could get it to fit and get a good side view and not worry about the weights rolling away. Warming up was fine here. I had issues with my belts today. First attempt of the first set the Velcro on the belt came undone and I dropped it. I reset things and went again and I got through the set before it popped off again locking out the second rep. I don’t know if I was bracing harder or something but I couldn’t keep having this happen on these with the short rest and I rushed to get a different belt (ratchet belt) which I generally use for my heavier pulls. It does not appear though it was purely the other belt as I had this belt come loose a few sets in and need to fix it as well (in this case, I hadn’t gotten it secure when I first put it on to stay in the EMOM rest period). I don’t feel like I’ve been consistent with getting these pulls to feel “perfect” on the first rep. I don’t really see too much difference set to set on the second reps really but there does seem to be a sweet spot where if I get the brace, flex and pull timed right that it feels weightless. Now I say this but this session was probably the best I’ve had with that being hit with getting it on the fourth and tenth set here. I think I got one set last week, none the week before as far as weights over 400lbs. The first week I think I had 2-3 that were but those were lighter weights. Everything held up in my lower body and no issues from the belt stuff or anything else. Getting that last set to be feeling like my best kind of gave me a boost/second wind but I knew I needed to take time setting up and tearing down. One for getting fluids in and the other to kind of think of staging for stuff later in the workout. From there on to the ssb front box squats. Same weight as last week but doing 6x4 instead. I did well last week it seems with control and form. I was a little anxious about loading the hips with the left side issue and the right knee being a little achy. I did the same warming up I did last week with 40-50lbs jumps on plate-quarter-plate all the way up and dropping a rep each set until working weight. A positive was that these didn’t feel as heavy compared to last week. Felt comfortable almost. I could definitely feel the left side thigh stuff as I did more sets and the fatigue was building from the controlled decent to the hard foam box but still good. So these went well as well. A little longer a break here to setup things for the triset. Again, slight change here. The snatch grip Romanian deadlifts started things off. Plan was 305-315lbs for 3x8. I figured that I’d probably have adapted to the movement after the first session so wouldn’t feel so alien and not feel like I was uncoordinated in the bottom range of the movement. So I went with 315lbs. I was also told that I should try to get my glutes to fire on these better so I did try and thick of that (easier said then done). 315lbs I miscounted the first set and since it was easy enough, I figured I’d stick to 9 reps for all the sets. Second set felt a good bit tougher than the first set and the third set felt like the first set. So that was a little weird. Pull ups were next. Same as it has been with 3 sets of max reps but adding 10lbs to bodyweight. I knew this was have me take a hit as adding weight does add a factor that makes the moving around part not as easy and trying to pull violently without control leads to that extra weight working against you. I also had the unfortunateness to be dealing with rain so did my best to keep the pull up bar dry between sets and dry my hands with liquid chalk. Reps took a hit here with getting 10 twice and 9 on the last set. I made a little mistake with the last thing. Indication was leg curls with bands in the same position as the band tantrums. I took that to mean using the same setup with the bands and this resulted in a more concentric only leg curl for just the top end. I used the same bands and did 3x15 here (reps and not seconds). Got quite hard contractions in the hamstrings on these. I’m not sure if Ms. Funk will have me keep these oopsies or if I will be doing more proper style next time. It gets a little tricky with moving things around. It was definitely getting later in the evening than I was hoping at this point and I still had one more thing to go. Arguably the most sport specific exercise I’m doing right now if intent is the Natural Strongman qualifier in January. Sandbag over shoulder. I’ve been doing 175lbs these past three weeks so told to move up to the next weight bag I got and go back to 3x30 seconds. Which meant 225lbs. It is a bit firmer compared to the 175lbs but it also has a not great top knot section to grab on one side vs the other. It makes me yearn for the Velcro bags that feel somewhat even each side. The 50lbs increase was definitely noticeable here. I figured that I should be able to do 4 reps on these in the time limit or just about going over finishing up. Even though I didn’t drink anything besides a few sips of water before this, I still was a victim to my biology as I threw up in my mouth picking up the bag the first rep on the first and second set. Just a little bit but it isn’t fun and it is quite distracting. These require a bit more effort with getting grip and wrist placement right and then if the umph isn’t there, a bit more muscling it over. But thankfully the work was done and I could go and eat dinner and then stretch out and try to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.

September 22, 2025 – Week 4, Day 1

Dynamic Warm Up

Axle Strict Presses (5-0-5-0 tempo)
30x3
60x3
93x6
93x6
93x6
93x6
93x6

Paused 12” Log Incline Bench Presses (3 seconds)
90x3
130x3
165x10
165x10
165x10

Alternating Dumbbell Floor Presses
70’sx30 seconds
70’sx30 seconds
70’sx30 seconds

Half Kneeling Neutral Grip Dumbbell Presses/Assisted Spanish Squats
55x8/8 – bwx40 seconds
55x8/8 – bwx40 seconds
55x8/8 – bwx40 seconds

Deadstop Pendlay Rows/Walking Lunges
135x4 
205x8 -- bwx25/25
205x8 -- bwx25/25
205x8 -- bwx25/25

Stretching

Comments: The weekend hadn’t been great with whatever I irritated in my left hip/inner thigh and that partly meant that I didn’t really do anything besides chores on Sunday. No walking and seeing if rest, antiflammatories and soft tissue work helped as having a little pity party about it certainly wasn’t. It had not really improved much and with things being how something tightens up and then the discomfort just wanders around like the ball in pong. I also had to take allergy meds as started having reaction to something in the air that had my right air become inflamed. Weight stayed about the same from last week. I was nervous about this week’s training as I was worried that I’d have to make adjustments to work around discomfort. Monday session is about the least amount of lower body stuff of the three sessions in the week. Work this week is going to be rough since this ended up being the week where I scheduled all those appointments from when I was made to clean up my dashboard. Most didn’t answer so that helped a bit but can’t expect every day to be like that. It was time to train. Foam rolling I didn’t need as much on my lower legs as I did go hard on them with the massager yesterday. The left was more tight than right for a change. Quads needed it the most. Neck rehab felt fine and dandy. I wasn’t too sure if I should do the lower body stretching for hips, ankles and knees but I did and those didn’t bother or irritate things so that I guess is a good sign. But I’ll have to see how loading movements are as there were moments of discomfort over the weekend with getting into and out of seated position. From there it was axle strict press. The tempo bumped back up to 5-0-5-0 for the 5x6. I guess I made it look too easy last week. I was advised that I could increase the weight up to 115lbs if it was too easy. It was definitely not going to be too easy as taking 2 seconds off each way made 90lbs feel easier than 76lbs for same reps. I knew it would be iffy to add weight to what I did last week with the time under tension increased but I felt like it being suggested with that weight range that I could try and sneak on a few pounds here. I could definitely tell that my triceps (especially the right) were feeling Saturday. This was challenging and I got that tendon soreness sensation in the left shoulder on these with this increased effort. It was definitely a tough one here but I got through it without having to go to 3 times the rest (but not quite 2 times). From there moving on to the paused log work. Same pauses and same suggested weight but now 3x10. The lockout was better but I was advised to control the eccentric and not plop like I’ve been doing. I think I’ve been doing that because with the pauses and number of reps that I was doing that so it wasn’t as taxing on me. Well not allowed to be sneaky here and make this be work the whole time. First set was fine and I felt like the second set was as well but then it got really challenging by the end with last rep being quite a struggle to lockout. Just fatigue where felt like triceps were just done. I took longer rest before going for the last set. The increased reps and the better control definitely taking it out of me. Third set went slightly better than the second set as far as the end of the set but perhaps not as solid with holding the lockouts for a count I guess as I had been the previous two sets. It hadn’t felt like I was shortchanging here but video suggests otherwise. Moving right along into the garage for more pressing. Alternating floor presses with dumbbells again. Initially it had me repeating last week but then clarification to do just 30 seconds sets with a heavy weight. I didn’t really want to deal with plateloaded handles for these again and since I was getting like 19 reps on the incline dumbbell squeeze stuff, I figured I could handle the 70lbs dumbbells here. Just a bit harder to get into position from the floor so I did wear wrist wraps tight to add support on getting from lap to shoulders. As has been the case, first set of these tends to be strongest and then other sets becomes tough to keep up the pace. It was possible that I could fatigue on these and not be able to lockout weights by the end but that thankfully didn’t happen. That concluded the regular pressing now the superset stuff with upper body and lower body. So as the same as last week with half kneeling presses to start. Reps cut to 8 and told to do 50-55lbs here. Aim being to also have the lockouts be solid/robotic like other things have been. I didn’t have balance issues this time around here on any of the reps and it felt fine throughout. This wasn’t that different. There were changes with the other half which was the Spanish squats. These had not been great and did some troubleshooting during the session with Ms. Funk as trying to get these to be something I could do. The changes required me to move the setup from using my weighted down dip stand to the power rack outside as using more band tension for the knee traction and thus needing more space and more weight to anchor down. The other part was adding in a rope assist as I’m not very strong here and apparently bodyweight is too much for me with maintaining the right posture. I was advised to wear my lifting shoes with heels as well to see if that did anything (not really). It is possible I have some ankle mobility issues that are affecting my knees as they feel fine when doing most things. They didn’t click until the last set of the session and I kind of wished I had more sets (I’m sick) so I could get that feeling ingrained more. But I guess a positive besides finally getting them to work for me was no issues in the hip/inner thigh. I wasn’t so sure that would be the case with the last thing. This again was Pendlay rows followed by walking lunges. Rows going up in weight with reps dropped and lunges increasing in volume. I started cooking dinner at this point. I was not thrilled about testing out tender parts on 150 reps of lunges. With it getting darker quicker, it didn’t make sense to try and setup outside in the street for the lunges for safety and practicality reasons. So I did them in the garage which would be a few reps and turn around and keep going. Rows felt fine and strong here. I was thankful that there was no discomfort in the legs/hips on that first rep of 150 with the lunges. First set of them I just did reps as they came but the other two sets I did 5 each way before turning and that made things a little easier to track as down and back would be 10 strides. I had not been terribly sweaty until these had to be done. Survived the session and put stuff away while my supper cooked. Ate and then stretched.

September 20, 2025 – Week 3, Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

Heel Elevated Safety Squat Bar Squats
65x10
115x5
155x4
205x3
245x6
245x6
245x6
245x6
245x6
245x6

Axle Push Presses (0-1-0-1 tempo)
45x5
75x3
105x3
135x2
165x2
200x3
200x3
200x3
200x3
200x3
200x3

Bulgarian Split Squats/Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Presses
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds -- 55’sx30 seconds
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds -- 55’sx30 seconds
20’sx30 seconds/30 seconds -- 55’sx30 seconds

Lateral Lunges/Single Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
bw+26.5x12/12 -- 35x12/12
bw+26.5x12/12 -- 35x12/12
bw+26.5x12/12 -- 35x12/12

Stretching

Comments: Life outside of training and family continues to be dumb. Stress about the upcoming work shift with onsite stuff feels like it is a behind the scenes stressor even tough it is still over two weeks before it happens. More dumb news was finding out that the one parking lot next to the building will no longer be leased as of 10/1/2025 and that side entrance is allowed for building entry anymore. Which means parking across a street that has no crosswalks or anything to slow traffic and having to go to a different entrance that is further away from where my work area is. So just little bullshit that is adding to the work commute that is very temperamental depending on traffic coming across the river bridge into the city. Return to office yet bringing in more people (half the building being rented out to another agency) and making it tougher for space and increasing workload is not helping. Especially when those above tell you to ask for help if needed and when you do, get told no to the slightest courtesy requested. It really does feel like they are trying to get everyone to quit so the job can be automated or something. Besides that, I had scheduled for shots Thursday afternoon since I will be in public more often. CDC bullshit making it so I can only get some of them so not great there either. Neither shot (Tdap and flu) really made anything sore which was good but I had given myself a two day buffer just in case. I apparently needed to sleep as I finally slept until 10:30AM which I’ve not done in quite some time. There wasn’t a need to go out to train early as I didn’t expect a lot of people to be there and no one is training for anything coming up soon. I didn’t need anyone to help with offseason stuff. The issues with going out there later is that traffic gets bad around the city trying to get out. I’ll likely be going out to train again next weekend but after that I will likely need to train at home or day pass to the other gym since I don’t want to train change training day with having to be getting up early for the work shift next month. Felt already at the gym and started off with foam rolling. Tops of calves tight both sides (more so the right) and wasn’t too bad rest of the legs. Upper back was definitely tense from shots and from the snatch grip rdls. Moved on to the neck rehab stuff and that was good. Did some stuff for my ankles and knees before doing stuff with stretches for the hips, ankles and knees and dead hang for decompression. These had felt like they went smoother/felt better on Wednesday compared to today. Then on to the squats. Still ssb squats with heels elevated and atg style. Indication for this session was 225-245lbs for 6x6 for these lighter squats. I was apparently “collapsing” on these last week and advised to not be doing that. Hopefully I got that right this time. I went with the higher end on these as I figured with the reps dropped I should be ok. I was a little uncertain after 205lbs felt a bit heavier on my back than I wanted but I was fine with 245lbs. For whatever reason, sometimes that jump with having the ssb on my back it feels like a lot going 155lbs to 205lbs and then I’m good. I didn’t really feel like I was fatigued as much here over the sets and I did pause the last rep of the last rep slightly just for good measure. I also was trying to treat these like individual reps with slight holds at lockout like I did with the incline log and deadlifts this week as I think I tend to just pump and go on things like squats and the like when I see reps. From there, moved on to axle out of the rack for overhead. Same setup of triples with pauses at two spots in the movement. Indication was to do same weight with more intent in those spots (emphasis on lockout going fast) for 6x3 so one more set than last time. I was feeling decent and anxiety wasn’t too high and for whatever reason, the weights weren’t feeling heavy on the unracks at the start like it has been the previous weeks. Maybe something clicked last week as unracks felt consistent. I was feeling good so I added 5lbs just so I was doing 200lbs. I felt like these went better than last time. Only on the last rep of the third set did I feel like I had not hit things how they should and it was tougher than I’d like it to be. I did some walking in place with the weight overhead on the last rep of the last set for good measure and just for a little fun for myself. The rest of the workout after that being the supersets. These had been a bear last week with the increased volume on the one and increased weight on the other. So some mercy here with the first one in that the volume was reduced but the weights were increased. The Bulgarians have been bodyweight only so far and this week 20lbs dumbbells in each hand. The incline stuff 5lbs increase to the dumbbells there. I wasn’t too concerned with how that would go seeing as how that isn’t that much compared to the changes of the splits squats going bodyweight to 15% of bodyweight added. The stance and the speed of movement had to be adjusted for comfort and to maintain balance and finishing the time limits. I did need to take a bit of a breather here just so that I could refocus since holding weight the entire time and making sure fatigue has subsided so I wouldn’t lose my balance. Not much to say on the incline stuff. I did try to take shorter rest between series compared to last week and I think I was successful with that. Those bss still sneak up on me with the fatigue and exhaustion. I did want to make sure I got to the last bit a little quicker than I had managed last week as well. I put away weights that were left on machines as I got things ready. Lateral lunges and triceps extensions with dumbbell. The lunges I was told to do the same weight as last week but add 2 reps per set. I knew that was not going to be fun but I was more concerned about the triceps extension as it was indicated to do 35lbs for 3x12 again. That had not felt possible last week with the tweak to tuck elbows in so I was a bit surprised it was indicated again. But I was going to give it my best effort. Warming up for these I did the Cossack squat positions and some triceps stretches with weight just so it wasn’t so abrupt. Knees were feeling this week and the rest of the session going into the lunges but seemed to be ok. Or so I thought. Left inside of my thigh and hip area got tense at some point after I did the first set. Not in a way that it impacted me doing the rest of the sets. Kind of a what’s done is done circumstance. I’ve had this kind of irritation before back in February and March of 2023. It took a bit for it to go (had to do with some heavy taxing on lower back plus wider stance with a 22” diameter stone) but it did finally let up. I’m wondering if it is because of just a little too much with the lunges, bss and then lateral lunges. I really hope that it calms down for me with a good night’s rest. The triceps were very tough but I did manage to get through them. I was moving around quite gingerly after this was done putting stuff away and cleaning up before leaving. Kind of assessing my hip/leg as I did. Drove home and stretched out. Hopefully the irritation in that spot is better by Monday.