3/15/20
Light day today after walking one awesome mile with Zeus.
Squats - 200 x 3 x 5
Press - 110 x 3 x 5
Chins (running clock at 75 second intervals) - 6 x 3, 4 x 4
Great session. I’m determined to train three days per week and not ruin the program by adding in extra shit. My in-between days will just be walking with Zeus and stretching. I may swing the mace a very little bit just because my shoulders are sore from getting used to the low-bar squat position.
3/13/20
First day back training after the Starting Strength seminar, which was several workouts in itself. I am so excited to apply what I learned to my training.
Squat - 250 x 3 x 5 - felt so good
Bench - 185 x 3 x 5 - no problems
Deadlift - 345 x 1 x 5 - solid
I really tried to nail my form on all of these lifts. I’m going to do my best to not add in any unnecessary stuff leading up to next month’s meet.
3/4/20
I got to train barefoot outside in the sunshine this afternoon and it was great. I warmed up with some 10 kg mace swings and then did some KB snatches. I used a running clock at 90 second intervals.
32 kg x 5/5 for the first 9 rounds, then 10/10 for the last round.
I tore a callus off my left hand like a dumbass. Hopefully it doesn’t bug me training this weekend. Followed this up with a nice walk with Zeus. Awesome.
3/3/20
Did a little rowing this morning. Warmed up and cooled down with 500m, and did 10 rounds of 100m springs with one minute rest. this was a lot of fun. Last time I did this, I broke 17 s a couple times. I guess it wasn’t meant to be today because I was pulling as hard as I could.
18.2 s
17.7
17.6
17.5
17.3
17.5
17.3
17.3
17.3
17.2
2/29/20
I drove down to CrossFit Koncepts in Gaithersburg, MD, to attend a bench/overhead press workshop taught by Marty Gallagher, Kirk Karwoski, and Jim Steele. This was kind of the second half of the squat/deadlift workshop I attended last October. We did a helluva lot of reps on the two movements, and I think I may finally be convinced that I should move my hands out on the bench. I’ve always been a narrow bencher, especially with my right shoulder bugging me, but I may have figured out how to bench a little wider without hurting myself. The only set worth remembering from yesterday was a 135 x 3 overhead press. The third rep was certainly a struggle, but it was solid.
The knowledge of Marty, Kirk, and Jim is just incredible. I have gotten a few nuggets from Jim in these two workshops that have been invaluable. I was a little disappointed that Michael Krivka, the gym owner, wasn’t there the whole time yesterday. He is an excellent coach who really helped me during the squat portion of the other workshop.
Time to rest up before heading to Wichita Falls, TX, for a Starting Strength seminar next weekend.
2/28/20
Trained in the basement/garage this morning. I still felt like I was half asleep during this session. I didn’t want to do anything too crazy because I’m going to a bench/press workshop tomorrow down in Maryland tomorrow.
Bench - 170 x 5, 195 x 3, 215 x 3
10 EMOM of weighted (10 kg vest)
3 chins superset with
3 push-ups
One-arm KB rows - 28 kg x 5 x 10 superset with
Dips - BW x 5 x 5
2/27/20
After Tuesdays disaster of a workout I decided to rest on Wednesday, aside from walking a couple miles with Zeus. I wanted to do something this morning that got me breathing a little bit and made me move. The Simple and Sinister protocol with a 24 kg kettlebell was just right.
10 one-handed swings every 30 seconds for five minutes
Rest one minute
One getup every minute for 10 minutes
The swings were actually tougher than I thought they’d be. It’s obvious I haven’t been swinging much, but that will come after April’s powerlifting meet.
2/25/20
Walked Zeus one awesome mile early this morning and then worked out at lunch. One of the advantages of working at home. The only downside is this whole workout felt like cucka poopoo.
Axle OHP - 85 x 5, 100 x 5, 115 x 5 - felt heavy
KB Snatches - 28 kg x 8/8 for 6 EMOM, 1 minute rest, 5/5. I wanted to do 8/8 for 8 EMOM but my form was getting sloppy and I was wrecked.
KB OHP - 18 kg x 2, 3, 5 superset with
Blast Strap Rows - BW x 3 x 6
Nothing after the snatches was doing me any good so I shut it down. I think Sunday’s squat/deadlift/Prowler fest is still in my system. I thought I had been doing a good job of backing off and taking more rest, but I still feel like I’m walking a fine line of burying myself right now. Oh well, keep on keeping on.
2/23/20
Just one of those days where everything felt heavy for some reason. I don’t think I ate enough food yesterday.
Squats - 180 x 5, 205 x 5, 230 x 5
Deadlift - 245 x 5, 280 x 5, 315 x 5
Prowler - 135 x 10 trips - did one trip every 75 seconds. This was the best part of the workout.
Showing the neighbors how to make some real noise. The basketball hoop is my official turnaround point.
I followed this up with breakfast and a three-mile walk on the Schuylkill River Trail with Zeus. Beautiful weather here today.
2/22/20
Went for an hour-long hike at Green Lane Park with Zeus. He was charging ahead the whole time and looked like he was feeling great. It was a beautiful morning and I listened to the new Raw with Marty Gallagher podcast. Hard to beat that.
I swung the Quad Mace around when I got home just to loosen up my shoulders a bit.
360s x 4 x 10
10-2s x 2 x 25
Green Lane Park
2/21/20
Friday bro session at 0430 in the basement.
Bench - 150 x 3, 170 x 3, 195 x 3
BB Rows - 60 kg x 10, 65 kg x 4 x 8-10
One arm kettlebell bench - 20 x 10, 22 x 3 x 10 - these were way tougher than anticipated
Curls with EZ curl bar - 4 sets of whatever
Ab Wheel - 3 x 5 - my goal with this is to be able to do it without my abs being sore for the next four days
Fun times. Looking forward to a nice hike with Zeus tomorrow and some squats and deadlifts on Sunday.
2/20/20
Woke up at 0145 and stayed in bed until about 0340.
Air Bike Sprints:
5 min warm-up
12 sprints of 15/45 work/rest
5 min cooldown
Fun session. Covered just over 7 miles in ~22 minutes. I actually felt much stronger than I thought I would when I rolled out of bed. Excited to lift tomorrow morning.
Got a good walk in with Zeus this afternoon as well. The weather here has been great and we’ve been able to do that every day this week. Cali walked him this morning too so his hips seems to be doing well.
2/18/20
0400 training in the garage:
Axle OHP - 95 x 3, 105 x 3, 120 x 5, 95 x 3 x 5 - easy day
Snatches - 24 kg x 104 in five minutes - 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, rest, 10/10, rest, 12/12 - This was easy but my legs were still tired from Sunday. I didn’t realize it until about halfway through. Next week I may have to wait until Wednesday to do my snatches.
Chins - 10 minute running clock:
4 reps on the minute the first five minutes
2 reps on the minute the second five minutes
The chins kind of kicked my ass today. Maybe because my body weight has been creeping up. I need to get back under 220.
2/17/20
Mondays have been my rest days the last month and a half. It’s been working well so I’m going to keep it that way. I’m off work today for President’s Day, but I did get up and take Zeus for a ~3 mile hike at Green Lane Park. It’s a beautiful mid-February day here with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-40s. I might get one more walk in later but we’ll see.
Last night was the third night of great sleep I had in a row, plus I took a nap both Saturday and Sunday of last weekend. I hadn’t slept well in a while, so this has made a huge difference in how I feel. I credit three things for my good sleep.
It being a long weekend for me allowed me to really feel relaxed.
I didn’t drink any alcohol this weekend. Sometimes drinking disrupts my sleep.
I wore my ear plugs every night and was pretty much dead to the world.
I’m fired up to press and do some kettlebell snatches tomorrow morning. It should be a blast.
2/16/20
Walked Zeus one awesome mile first thing this morning, then trained in the basement. Knee sleeves only on the squats. No belt or straps on anything.
Squats - 190 x 3, 220 x 3, 245 x 5 - felt solid
Deadlifts - 260 x 3, 300 x 3, 335 x 4
Over the shoulder tosses with 100-lb med ball - 3 x 5 every 90 seconds
Suitcase carries - 28 kg x 4 trips (left down, right back)
Fun session. The goal was for everything to feel light and not overdo it. Mission accomplished.
My goal with squatting and deadlifting on Sundays is to get the two biggest lifts done together and give myself the rest of the week to recover a bit. I’ve been reading and listening to Marty Gallagher talk about recovery and it has me thinking. We’ll see how this goes.
2/15/20
Went outside this morning in the 9 F temperatures. There was no wind though so it wasn’t bad.
20 rounds of 45 seconds:
Odds - Quad mace swings of various directions.
Evens - Seated box jumps. Used the 30” for sets 1-7, 32.25” for set 8, and 33” for my last two sets. These felt great.
Followed this up with one awesome mile with Zeus. My neighbor who had complained about noise recently was outside and said he heard this banging again on Thursday morning. I didn’t train most of last week though, including Thursday, so I may have finally convinced him that it’s not me making the noise.
2/14/20
Trained early this morning in the basement. Really had a fun session. I started a new 5/3/1 Powerlifting cycle. That should work out nicely leading up to my meet in April.
Bench - 160 x 3, 180 x 3, 205 x 3 - felt very solid
KB Incline Bench - 22s x 4 x 12
Skull Crushers and Close Grip Bench with EZ Curl Bar - 10 kg x 10, 15 kg x 3 x 10
Landmine Rows - 90 x 7 x 12 - these were all done supersetted with the above two exercises
Ab wheel - 3 x 5
Great Friday bro session. I was really excited to get back to training. I followed this up by walking Zeus one awesome mile.
2/8/20
I did a push/pull meet at Anchor Life + Fitness in Kennett Square, PA, today. This was an unsanctioned charity meet created to raise money for a young boy with leukemia. It ended up being a ton of fun and Cali and I met some very kind and caring people.
The gym actually had really nice Rogue equipment, and the warm-up area and equipment were better than some of the bigger, sanctioned meets I’ve done over the years. It was kind of weird just doing bench and deadlift without squatting first. I had absolutely zero expectations for the day since I just added barbell training back in about seven weeks ago. I haven’t benched anything over 200 pounds because of a shoulder issue or deadlifted anything over 365 pounds in about a year and a half. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised with my lifts, even though they were still far less than impressive.
Bench - 198, 220, 242
Deadlift - 330, 375, 407
Everything felt pretty fast, easy, and solid. This definitely got me fired up for the Marty Gallagher/Kirk Karwoski/Jim Steel bench/overhead press workshop I’m going to in a few weeks and the Starting Strength seminar I’m going to next month. I may have to find a full meet later this year and get signed up.
I absolutely love having a home gym and the easy access to everything a gym rat could possibly want right in my garage/basement, but the one thing that I am lacking is quality training partners. When I first started getting serious about powerlifting, I didn’t really think about how big of an effect atmosphere could have on my performance or how motivating it is to be around a group of like-minded people who want to get stronger. Even the small audience at the meet yesterday, many of whom probably knew very little about lifting, made a huge difference in my mindset going up to the bar for each lift. I absolutely knew I was going to make my last deadlift even though it was 40 pounds over anything I’ve touched in a very long time. The crowd had me all pumped up and I knew it would come up.
One of the other lifters at the meet was this guy, Julian. He was one of those people with the gift of gab who came off as very personable. Julian trains at Iron Sport in Glenolden, and he said the atmosphere there is just incredible. Seeing 600 pound deadlifts on a regular basis gets a person out of his/her own head and makes it seem very ordinary and attainable. I need to find or create that atmosphere somehow or some way.
I’m going to take a deload this week and get rested up before starting a new cycle. Looking forward to things to come.