Thursday 4/3
LIGHT KB PRESS
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26, 5x26
Kettlebell Press
2, 3, 2, 3, 2 x 53
2, 2, 2, 2, 2 x 62
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50-pound vest.
Friday 4/4
HEAVY DEADLIFT VARIATION
Sumo Deadlift
3x135
3x225
1x315
1x345
1x375
1x405
1x410
So I think what I’ve settled into now - for the next few months - will be axle deadlifts (in a conventional stance, lest there be any confusion) on Wednesday and sumo deadlifts (with my deadlift bar) on Friday. For a few more weeks I’ll stick with the light triples on axle and heavier singles on sumo then I’ll start alternating weeks which one is “heavy” and which one is “light” in a given week.
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Saturday 4/5
HEAVY KB PRESS
Bottoms Up Press
5x26
5x26
5x35
5x35
2x44
Kettlebell Press
2x53
2x62
2x70
2x80
1x88
1x97
This felt great. 97 went up easily on both sides. Gonna work my way up over a few more cycles and then hit the 106 again. Eventually I want the 106 to be a weight that I can do every “heavy” day.
Sunday 4/6
HEAVY(ish) DEADLIFT
Deadlift
3x135
3x135
3x225
3x225
2x315
2x345
2x375
1x405
1x405
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50 pound vest.
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Miscellaneous thoughts while I’m here.
For the next few months I’m going to do box squats every Monday and then two deadlift days per week. One of which will always be lighter and resemble a “dynamic effort” day, the other will be closer to a “max effort” day, rotating the implements (axle vs deadlift bar), stance (conventional or sumo - though I always deadlift the axle in conventional stance), and may mix in some chains here and there for fun.
By the end of the summer I’d like to be pulling 475 on the axle and 495 on the barbell in both conventional and sumo stance.
Right now my sumo feels way ahead of my conventional if I’m honest. The 410 single on Friday was a piece of paper, and though I’m committed to progressing slowly I feel like 495 wouldn’t be far off right now - but the two 405 singles today in conventional stance felt a bit harder. Also may be influenced by having a sick kid last night and getting like 4 hours’ sleep on the couch with him snuggled on me, but I do think my sumo is ahead of conventional right now by an appreciable amount based on the relative effort to pull similar weights.
Oh, one other note: post hernia surgery I’ve still been 100% beltless. Not some badge of honor or anything, just have been a little bit weirded out at the thought of putting on a belt and bracing hard against it after the surgery. At some point I might get over that, but I also don’t think it’s the worst thing to go awhile without the belt.
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Monday 4/7
SQUAT VARIATION
Box Squat
2x135
2x165
2x195
8 x 2 x 215
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Tuesday 4/8
LIGHT KB PRESS
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26, 5x26
Kettlebell Press
3, 4, 3, 4, 3 x 53
2, 2, 2, 2, 2 x 62
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Wednesday 4/9
LIGHT DEADLIFT
Axle Deadlift (no straps)
3x115
3x115
3x205
3x205
3x230
3x230
3x230
1x235
1x265
1x295
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Thursday 4/10
MEDIUM KB PRESS
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26, 5x26
Kettlebell Press
2, 3, 2, 3, 2 x 62
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50-pound vest.
On top of my plans for box squats and deadlifts, I’ve also got a nice little plan to step up the weights and volume for my KB pressing. Light day with the 53 on Tuesday. Medium day with the 62 on Thursday. Heavy day working up to the big bells on Saturday.
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Friday 4/11
HEAVY(ish) DEADLIFT
Sumo Deadlift
3x135
3x135
3x225
3x225
1x315
1x315
1x405
1x415
Man sumo is feeling really great right now. I guess the axle and box squats are building a great supportive base. Staying patient but I swear to god I’ll be good for 5 plates this summer, no sweat.
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Saturday 4/12
HEAVY KB PRESS
Bottoms Up Press
5x26
5x35
5x44
Kettlebell Press
2x53
2x62
2x70
2x80
1x88
1x97
1x97
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50 pound vest.
Slowly rebuilding to the 106 and hoping that can be an every-Saturday weight, but for a few weeks I’ll add some regular reps with the 97 before going there.
Also, other thought: in my 20’s (post college football) I was super into running, ran semi-seriously with a local club mostly composed of former college runners, ran several half marathons with a best time of 1:27, which is not winning anything serious but is fast enough to make most people go “whoa.” I also was permitted to run unattached in a college track meet (I was friendly with the track coach from my alma mater and was still living nearby) and managed a 4:56 in the 1500 meters, coming in last but “right behind” the last real college runner in the race (not too bad for a guy who had been playing offensive tackle 4 years before that). Point is, I had a prolonged period where I was really a “cardio guy” and only sporadically lifted. For almost 10 years now I’ve been back the other way - much more lifting than running or cardio, save for a few weird bits here and there you could find somewhere in this log. It’s kinda funny that now one of my goals for the spring and summer is to do three of these “1 mile weight vest walks” per week as a form of cardio - I used to get up and run 14 miles on a Saturday just for fun! A variety of things factor into this, but it’s amusing to reflect on.
I guess one more thought related to that: one of the common debates seems to be the “I don’t have time to train” and I find myself falling somewhere in the middle. Meaning, I think there are very few people who legitimately can claim they have ZERO time to train. But I also think it’s not realistic for people on the other side of the debate to act like literally ANYONE (excluding pro athletes and hardcore amateur competitors for whom this is all a different discussion entirely) should be able to find 2 hours a day to train. I think finding 20-30 minutes a day ought to be realistic for most people and will do you just fine for generally staying fit if that’s your goal. But that does mean for a guy like me “cardio” is now “get out for a mile walk wearing the weight vest a couple times a week” even if I’m the type that used to be mentally and physically up for running an hour daily.
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Sunday 4/13
EASY DEADLIFT
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50 pound vest
Axle Deadlift (no straps)
3x115
3x115
3x205
3x205
3x235
3x235
3x235
3x235
1 Like
Monday 4/14
SQUAT VARIATION
Box Squat
2x135
2x165
2x195
8 x 2 x 220
1 Like
Tuesday 4/15
LIGHT KB PRESS
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26, 5x26
Kettlebell Press
3, 4, 3, 4, 3 x 53
Wednesday 4/16
EASY DEADLIFT
Axle Deadlift (no straps)
3x115
3x115
3x205
3x205
3x235
3x235
3x235
3x235
Thursday 4/17
MEDIUM KB PRESS
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50-pound vest.
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26, 5x26
Kettlebell Press
2, 3, 2, 3, 2 x 62
Friday 4/18
HEAVY(ish) DEADLIFT
Sumo Deadlift
3x135
3x135
3x225
3x225
3x315
3x315
1x405
1x420
1 Like
Saturday 4/19
HEAVY KB PRESS
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50 pound vest.
Bottoms-Up Press
5x26
5x35
5x44
Kettlebell Press
2x53
2x62
2x70
1x80
1x88
1x97
1x97
1x97
Forget if I said this already, but I’m gonna try to start adding a bit more volume with the 97 (more like 3-5 singles per Saturday workout instead of just one) for the next few weeks / months in an effort to build up to a point where I can finish every Saturday’s “heavy press” workout with the 106.
Sunday 4/20
EASY DEADLIFT
Deadlift
3x135
3x135
3x225
3x225
3x315
3x315
3x315
Weight Vest Walk
1 mile wearing 50 pound vest
Monday 4/21
SQUAT VARIATION
Box Squat
2 x 135
2 x 165
2 x 195
8 x 2 x 225