Thanks man! It’s weird, I definitely still “feel” like the fat guy, but yesterday at work a kid was walking around trying to find me by asking if anyone “knew where the jacked officer was at.”
If you think the countries inflation has been bad, you should of seen what that comment did to my ego lol
Axle bench: 185x5, 210x5, 220x4 (hit the upright, lost the last rep), 205x4, 185x5 (hit the upright again. Not my day). 165x10
Pull-ups: 10, 8, 7
Notes:
fatigue catching up with me. Sleeps not much, but I’m pretty used to functioning without that. Been so busy at work that I haven’t been eating as much as I should. May be good for the waistline, but I’m seriously underfed. Only had a meal or two a day for a few days now, just didn’t have any push in me when I got into the gym. Hopefully things should lighten up slightly in a few days, then significantly in a few weeks.
I stopped 531 after getting Covid and having all my strength drop drastically enough that I couldn’t hit the weights programmed. Wanted to take a few months of straight linear progression to build back up to where I was before. Well, I am about there. Plan on running a BBB Beefcake and BTM once I hit 190, so I figured I should have a couple cycles of leaders under my belt before starting that. Going to just go with the classic 5x5 FSL approach on these, starting as soon as I establish some good TM’s this week.
honestly, I was hoping for more on deadlifts. I hit 430x6 on the trap bar with low handles, I thought that would mean I had more in me. Weights felt odd, way further in front of me than I was expecting. Think I really need to re-learn my conventional form a bit, just felt off. Nearly had 475.
pulled 470 back in February, so went for 475 to try to beat that. Kind of pissed I didn’t, because that means I haven’t gotten stronger in that time. Then again, I’m 25lbs lighter, and this was the first time in a long time pulling over 2x bodyweight deadlift so… meh. Still weak, but hopefully just a few more months of cutting and then I can turn it on.
Happier with axle press. 175x1 moved decently, definitely not as ugly as some of the other reps I’ve done, 165 was just flat clean and crisp. Given 190 was my best with a regular barbell, and that was done with a ton of lean ALA Rippletoe style, im actually content with my pressing strength.
Resting tomorrow, then squat and axle bench. After that, starting 531.
On another note, life’s just been one crazy hit after another the past few weeks. As such, diet has suffered. Not necessarily even eating too much, just low quality food, or missing meals and then gorging to try to make up for it. Not great, but I didn’t completely let go. Finally got my orders, and they are not exactly what the wife and I were planning, nor really what I was indicated I would get. Not deploying right away, so that’s good at least, got some time until that happens. Currently making all the preps for another move, trying to find a house to buy, wife’s seeing if she can transfer her job. Busy times. With a little luck, I’ll get a bit of a break in 2 weeks, and then In just Over 4 weeks I’ll be taking a whole month of transfer leave, should be able to get into a good rhythm at my new spot by then.
went to front squats for a spell because quads have always been weak for me. Quads definitely did not feel like a weak spot for me on these back squats, so that’s good. That being said, it’s been a LONG time since I did a regular back squat, and Jesus I have just about completely forgotten how to do it. Form was all sorts of off, just couldn’t get comfortable with the bar on my back, I’m gonna need a few sessions to get this feeling back to normal. Adjusting my feet positioning, hand placement, just trying to remember what “right” felt like. Think I went a little to extreme on keeping my legs close together today, knee doesn’t like it. Going to widen an inch or two next time I squat. 335 moved okay, definitely could have muscled up some more weight, but would be doing more of a good morning than I squat if I went that route, so capped it there.
happy with 250lb axle bench. Not sure how that would reflect on a straight bar, but it’s a decent number for me.
I haven’t been doing max sets of pull-ups in a while, so I honestly can’t remember if 12 is a PR or not. May have had 13, but 12 felt like a good spot.
Plan is just simple first set last, 4x a week. Normal 5-3-1 progression with a PR set, then 5x5 FSL. Big focus on keeping reps clean and fast. If I’m doing regular squats and deadlifts, now is when I really care about keeping my form sharp, every rep the same.
For accessory work, sticking with wendlers recommendations for push, pull, and single leg/core.
Push: dips, trap bar press, inc DB press (after the move. Treating the home gym to some adjustable DBs and an incline bench), regular db press (again after the move)
Pull: chins of all variety, DB rows, band pull aparts
Single leg: lunges of all variety. Front squat. Sled drag. Prowler push (also a gym treat post move, depending on garage size)
Core: ab wheel. Band crunch. Open to suggestions on other ideas.
Conditioning work will be mandatory on any lifting day. May just be a quick 800m run, may be a long bike ride, may be a metcon, just need to sweat.
Plan is to run this for at least 2, max 4 cycles before hopping onto BBB Beefcake.
I like to do hanging work for core, like knee raises (can add slam ball between feet if need more resistance), leg raises, toes to bar, Works my grip, gives me a nice lat stretch and works hip flexors too.
PR set felt good, backoff sets were great, bar speed was flying
tons of pull-ups, was trying to get to 50 in the workout, hit a hard walk at 47, and figured doing sets of 2-3 pull-ups was dumb.
push-ups just because I have a PRT coming up soonish and haven’t done them in a hot minute
poundstone curls are back, and holy arm pumps are in season
was a bit worried about the run, because I haven’t run in weeks and honestly have been kind of half assing cardio. Still hit a PR, so that was awesome. Puked all over my driveway afterwards, that was less awesome.
Edit: just realized this is my first run while using Surge Workout Fuel during my workout. Interesting
big day at work, had a pretty important evaluation that I just crushed, feeling good about that.
going up to VA this weekend to look for some houses in the Norfolk area, mortgage already pre-approved, hopefully we can find something good.
deadlifts went well. Probably had 2 more in the tank, but not with anything close to good form, trying to listen to Jim on this one.
noticed today on my back off sets that I actually felt decently stronger if I moved my feet in about 2 inches. Last time I did straight bar, I was about 30lbs heavier. Wondering if the weight loss is changing my leverages a bit, narrower deadlift stance might be the move.
semi-annual fitness test today. Maxed push-ups and planks, maybe not the most clean form on either, but today is not the day for strict standards lol.
really pleased with the run. Paced myself well, pulled back on the first 3 laps so I didn’t burn out, was able to finish strong. Honestly wasn’t too dead after the run, my game day run times are always just substantially better than when I run on my own. The anxiety gives a great performance boost lol
hip flexors insanely tight from my run yesterday, had a hard time getting into a squat position.
definitely had more reps at 275, but not with good form. Really trying to clean up the squat form and only train good reps, but man this is going to be a humbling experience for a while. I’ve just spent too long saying my squat form doesn’t feel right, i need to dedicate some time to just getting this right, even if it means I’m not moving the weights I want. Frustrating.
backoff sets felt good. Keeping form solid, weights moving quick, I think a lot of my squat progress will actually come from the FSL, rather than top set work.
I have been wanting to do some Olympic lifts for a long time, but I have awful mobility and no real training in them, so I figured better not to teach myself into bad form. Recently started looking into KBs more and more, seems like a decent way to get the explosiveness benefits without as steep of a learning curve. Really liked the snatches I did today, definitely keeping in rotation
killer bike ride, just absolutely red lined my heart rate on some of those intervals
KBs are SUCH a fantastic compromise here. Trying to move a barbell in that manner is just so tough: the bells move far more naturally. Only real issue is skin rips on the hands. But for the life of me, these days, you tell me I can only have ONE piece of equipment, it’s going to be a set of adjustable KBs.
I can see the skin rips becoming a concern, definitely a high friction movement. Still, the snatches felt awesome. Just a powerful movement that works well with my “muscle the damn weight” mentality.
I’ve got a 53lb and 35lb kb that I picked up when Covid shut down the gyms. I wouldn’t mind picking up some pairs so I could do matching movements. Double kb snatch, cleans, etc. I’ve seen Dan John really praise them, and all the work of Pavel Tsatsouline looks pretty interesting to me. I’m not sure if I’d ever go the full KB no other weights approach, but they certainly seem like an awesome supplement to barbell work.
Actually, now that I think of it, I definitely could see myself moving to KB mainly work when I get older. Low impact, easy to do quickly, strength and conditioning. Could be an awesome tool once I inevitability break myself too much to keep up the barbell work lol.
Crazy busy week. Out of state travel, some family emergencies, finished up the final testing event for my nuclear pipeline, bought a house, just a lot going on. That being said, it’s done now. Yeah, I still got a move coming up, but most of the hard work is done at this point, and I am done with shift work. I don’t report to my ship until mid september…. So I have like 6 weeks of R&R. Nice.
Press went alright. Not a PR by any means, but for being a bit out of rhythm and using the axle, 135x8 with great form is good enough. Cut it there as form started to break down.
very happy with chins, moved strong
dips felt good
I need to do poundstone curls as the last part of my workout, didn’t realize how freaking dead my arms would be after, made it hard to do lat raises from the pump lol
no idea on weight. Last two weeks, I’ve had some days where I probably crushed 4,000 calories, and others where I don’t think I cleared 700. Just depended on how busy I was and what I could get my hands on. Exercise ranged from 8+ Miles of walking a couples days, to literally just sitting in a car driving all day. So, a bit all over the place, will weigh myself tomorrow to see where I am at.
Well done on what I would call some life PR’s. Feels like you are in a good place right now and you should be very proud of yourself sir. Salute and respect.