Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d3

Tuesday - 21 June 2022
Workout: Press & press WM, 1205-1315 (70 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 1225; End: 1306; Duration: 41 minutes
Press - 55x5, 70x5, 85x5 | 100x5, 115x5, 130x5 | (100x5)x5
Ab wheel - ramp (19) - 20, 16, 4
Pull-up - BW - 15, 14, 6
Decline DB press - 2x65 lbs - 16, 15, 4
Bulgarian split squat - L/R - 2x30 lbs - 15, 10
BFP - red - 30
Band pushdown - red - 30

Press - 90 - 20

Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 65 reps

It’s been a long morning: poor sleep, up and out early, and an intense 2-hour meeting that left me feeling drained. Got this in, though, and managed to survive.

Main work in 11 minutes, supplemental in 16, assistance superset throughout. Press sets felt okay today, though 130 was far from easy. Supplemental was strong and smooth, and the follow-up WM went well through about 15 reps. The next 4 were okay-ish, and I had to fight for lockout on the last one. But I got all 20 unbroken—I didn’t give up!—so that’s a plus.

Daily work and hard conditioning left for this afternoon, which is somewhat truncated due to the late start and a swim meet this evening. Gotta find a way to get it done. But first, some lunch—it’s been WAY too long since breakfast!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d3

Tuesday - 21 June 2022
Workout: Daily work + hard conditioning, 1535-1555 + 1620-1700 (20 + 40 minutes)

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Kroc rows - L/R - 65 lbs - 10, 10, 25

10 rounds of:
a) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
b) 10 DB lateral raises - 2x12 lbs
c) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
d) 15 shrugs - 2x65 lbs
Time: 28:45

Daily work done, so that just leaves hard conditioning. Easy thing to do would just be a continuous push—that’d be done in less 15 minutes—but lately I like squeezing in some extra work between the trip up and the trip down. Hopefully I’m just able to move more quickly than last week, 'cause the clock is ticking… Besides, I can always just take dinner with me (which I may do anyway).

Edit: Sled push done. That much extra shoulder work on press day is, once again, either a bad idea or a Bad Idea. I made it through, so I’m leaning toward Bad Idea. Not moving super-fast, fell off the 2:30 pace by the end of round 4 and was taking mid-round breaks to catch my breath from round 7 on, but I got it done in less than 3:00 per round on average. Given that it is 92 degrees and full sun right now, I’m okay with that for today.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d4

Tuesday - 22 June 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning & squat WM, 0800-0905 (65 minutes)

Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 16 minutes (to park)
Easy run - 9 laps, about 1750m - 8:43
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 18 minutes (from park)

Squat - 220 - 20

Fasted. Air was like pea soup out there today, so of course I decide to push the run. I shaved 43 seconds off my time, I broke the sub-1:00 per lap threshold for the first time this year, and I might have even set a PR—looks like my previous best was 8:37 back in October 2021, but apparently I lost count of the laps on that run, so that time might have been for 8 laps. Either way, I’m happy with the effort this morning.

Squat WM was hard again, despite still being light compared to last week. Made it through all 20 reps unbroken, however, so I am once again happy with the effort.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d4

Wednesday - 22 June 2022
Workout: Calves & daily work + extra conditioning, 1115-1200 +1430-1450 (45 + 20 minutes)

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) CS DB rows - 2x50 - 10, 10, 25
d) Belted CR - 135 - 30, 25, 20

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

Nish WOD - for time: 12:03

Still fasted—again, just the way it’s working out today. I will be eating momentarily.

Anyway, thinking of dropping the DBs back to 45 lbs on those chest-supported rows—the challenge is real, and these isolate much more so than Kroc or Pendlay rows. Even so, I feel like I’m finding ways to cheat, which kind of defeats the purpose.

I’ve got the Nish WOD on tap for later. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that one, and while it’s a “for time” WOD, I’m not shooting for anything earth-shattering time-wise today. Looks like my previous best (last August!) was just over 13 minutes… Let’s say I’d be happy coming in under 15 today.

Edit: Luckily when I set the bar too low, I don’t let up—at least this time I didn’t. I totally smoked all of my previous Nish WOD times by a minute or more, and I wasn’t really trying. The burpees alone took somewhere around 3 minutes, as I’ve settled into a pretty steady rhythm (even if not quite a strict 6-count) on the 1-pump variations lately, and my form on those is super crisp, too—I used to get sloppy in an attempt to go fast. On top of that, there’s no way to “outperform” 81 seconds on the plank hold, so that just leaves the 11 rounds of pull-ups, push-ups, and air squats. Anyway, hopefully today’s time is just an indication that I’ve improved over the past 10 or 11 months since I last did this WOD. Either way, it’s a keeper!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d5

Thursday - 23 June 2022
Workout: Deadlift & deadlift WM, 0940-1110 (90 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 1004; End: 1100; Duration: 56 minutes
Deadlift - 135x5, 170x5, 210x5 | 245x5, 285x5, 320x5 | (245x5)x5
Ab wheel - ramp (19) - 20, 16, 1
Chin-up - BW - 16, 16, 3
Dip - 60 - 15, 15, 5
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x30 lbs - 10; L/R - BW - 15
BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
Push-up - 30

Deadlift - 225 - 20

Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 62 reps

I’m toast. Just absolutely fried. Perhaps I’m STILL not eating enough?

Deadlifts were alright, most were slow and steady, no straps except for the follow-up WM. Main work in 19 minutes, supplemental in 20 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

I’ve been fighting deep lower ab soreness ever since I started doing the ab wheel at the “19” setting on the ramp, but today something on the left side popped (or made some kind of noise or something) after the 1st rep of the 3rd set, I suddenly found myself on my knees, and I just couldn’t get my head to let me try another rep, so I called it there. It’s been awhile now, and there’s no swelling, it doesn’t feel torn, there’s nothing sticking out—it’s just a dull residual ache and a little tender if I press too hard just above where I felt the “pop.”

Luckily it didn’t prevent me from finishing the workout, and I managed to get in 10 reps of those lunges on each leg weighted, but I had to go with body weight because I couldn’t bear the added weight of the dumbbells after that… I probably cheated a bit with my back leg on the left side anyway. Regardless, I was happy to get two sets of 16 chin-ups and two sets of 15 dips today, even if the core/single leg stuff wasn’t great.

Press WM and daily work this afternoon, then another swim meet this evening!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d5

Thursday - 23 June 2022
Workout: Press WM & daily work, 1500-1525 (25 minutes)

Press - 100 - 17+4

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Pendlay rows - 120 lbs - 10, 10, 25

Bad to worse, folks, bad to worse.

Wish I could say the reason I missed on today’s WM was because the ab issue was affecting my brace—and it certainly was, no doubt about that—but I’m not sure that’s why I missed… I was just tentative, on the press and on everything else.

Going to write it all off as a bad day and put it behind me. So that means all I have to do now is eat, rest, and focus on tomorrow.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d6

Friday - 24 June 2022
Workout: Bench, bench WM, & daily work, 0930-1055 (85 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0948; End: 1030; Duration: 42 minutes
Bench - 95x5, 125x5, 150x5 | 180x5, 205x5, 230x5 | (180x5)x5
Cable crunch - 50 - 20, 20, 10
Pull-up - BW - 15, 15, 5
Seated DB press - 2x40 lbs - 16, 15, 4
Good morning - 115 - 18, 7
BFP - red - 30
Band pushdown - red - 30

Bench - 165 - 25+5

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Kroc rows - L/R - 65 lbs - 10, 10, 25

Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 75 reps

Decent morning, all things considered. My lower abs are still sore, and the left side is a bit tender, but no worse than yesterday and probably even a little better. Bracing didn’t hurt going in, but it’s a little unhappy now that the work is done. I tried HLRs during warm-up: there was not way toes-to-bar was happening today, and while I probably could’ve pushed through knees-to-chest, I decided to go with cable crunches (using a 3251 tempo) instead. I was under strict instruction from my wife not to do, “anything stupid.” Probably the right move, given that it’s feeling a little worse now than it was at the start of the workout…

Benching went pretty well. Main work in 12 minutes, supplemental in 16, assistance superset throughout. Decided to push the follow-up WM a bit beyond 20—I had a rep PR of 30+ in mind—but I got to 25, decided there was nothing to prove, and racked it. Sort of changed my mind and decided to rest-pause it, so less than 15 seconds later I started cranking out more reps. Called it at 30 total, because… Well, because it was only 165 lbs, and it’s bench press—I mean, who really cares? Haha.

Straight into daily work after that. All I have left for today is a sled push, where I’m planning to squeeze in DB front squats and some jump rope between each of the up and back trips.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d6

Friday - 24 June 2022
Workout: Hard conditioning, 1445-1535 (50 minutes)

10 rounds of:
a) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
b) 8 DB front squats - 2x30 lbs
c) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
d) Jump rope - 75 reps
Time: 34:03

Another one of those “Just Don’t Quit” workouts. So… At least I didn’t quit!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d7

Saturday - 25 June 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning & deadlift WM, 0620-0725 (65 minutes)

1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Deadlift - 245 - 20

Fasted. Deadlift moved pretty well, but it really challenged my breathing this morning. Upper back felt strong throughout, so maybe these daily rows are helping.

Daily work, calves, and BB curls will follow after today’s swim meet—probably later than I’d like, but I’ll get it done.

[simo74]

Good to see you still getting the burpees in sir.

[SvenG]

Every day, mate—every day!

[SvenG]

Awesome day for my daughter:

• 1st place in 50-meter breaststroke
• 3rd in 50-meter fly
• 4th in 50-meter freestyle
• 3rd in 100-meter IM
• 3rd overall in the 11-year old girls!

That last one earned her this:

It’s her first trophy, too.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2d7
Saturday - 25 June 2022

Workout: Calves & daily work + BB curls, 1455-1540 + 1610-1620 (45 + 10 minutes)

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Pendlay rows - 120 - 10, 10, 25
d) Belted CR - 135 - 30, 25, 20

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

BB curls - 125

Calves and daily work done. BB curls and cheeseburgers to follow.

Edit: BB curls done. These get harder and harder every week. Nearly half-way to the goal and next week will tie my rep PR with these, but today is the first time I’m questioning my ability to reach 152 unbroken by year’s end. Just going to have to suck it up and continue to work through the pain… Anyway, all that’s left for today is cheeseburgers!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w2 - summary

Thoughts for these summary posts swirl in my head all week, but by the time I get to writing them down, mostly I just feel like a broken record…

I only missed on the heavier press WM, and although that’s annoying, I’m just going to keep chipping away this week. I don’t think I ate enough for most of the week, but I finally pushed down some decent amounts of food on Friday and Saturday, so I’ll just need to keep that up through the week. (Most of the food was solid, too: I wasn’t resorting to junk or helping myself to dessert, either.)

Based on where I am now, I’m planning to run the upcoming 7WP Deload and 5s PRO, 5x5 FSL anchor using the actual 7WP and 5s PRO, 5x5 FSL rep schemes: no TM testing, and I’ll probably layoff the WMs for awhile during the anchor—two days of big eating and I’m already tired of food (I almost can’t believe I’m saying that!), so I’m going to want a bit of a break after this week. I’ll probably keep the TMs the same, too, because I’m still looking for mastery on those top sets, but don’t think I’ve found it yet.

Bah! That’s all probably a bit premature, because I need to finish out 1s week first. So, let’s focus on crushing that, Sven, and not get too far ahead of yourself…

Okay, so—my goals for this week are:

• Complete all 4 lifting workouts
• Complete 2 Widowmaker sets for each lift
• Hit (at least) 65 reps for each assistance category
• Complete 2 days of hard conditioning
• Complete 3 days of easy conditioning
• Do (at least) 50 burpees + swings every day
• Continue to row something heavy every day
• Continue to eat well

The Widowmaker weights for Week 3 are:

Press - 105 lbs, 115 lbs
Squat - 235 lbs, 255 lbs
Dead - 265 lbs, 285 lbs
Bench - 190 lbs, 205 lbs

Some of those might not be realistic yet, but I’m gonna stick with the plan. If I discover I still need to get stronger to hit 20 reps at the FSL weights, then that’s just what I’ll do. (Eventually, haha!)

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w3d1

Sunday - 26 June 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning & bench WM, 0725-0830 (65 minutes)

1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Bench - 205 - 17+4 (rep PR)

Fasted.

Pretty happy with the bench WM attempt this morning: fought for reps 16 and 17, and might have had 18, but had already crushed my previous attempt (14 unbroken reps), so I racked it for 15 seconds to be sure I got all 20 in a rest-pause. Hit an extra rep in the second mini-set, so that was cool too.

Calves, daily work, and The Last Castle throughout the remainder of the day.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w3d1

Sunday - 26 June 2022
Workout: Calves, daily work, & extra conditioning, 1205-1325 (80 minutes)

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Kroc rows - L/R - 65 lbs - 10, 10, 25
d) Belted CR - 135 - 25, 20, 15

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

Pwn’s The Last Castle - AMRAP, 20 minutes
a) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
b) 6 alternating DB snatches - L/R - 40 lbs
c) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
d) 10 KB swings - 28 kg
Rounds: 8; Time: 22:25

No longer fasted and powered by Surge Workout Fuel. Still a beast of a workout, though. This week Pwn talked about the logic of suffering, and although I could point out all kinds of things The Last Castle does for my body, mostly I’m becoming skilled at suffering. (That workout is one of his Bad Ideas, after all.) Pretty happy with the effort today, particularly given the heat, humidity, and sun.

[raven78]

@SvenG

Press - 105 lbs, 115 lbs
Squat - 235 lbs, 255 lbs
Dead - 265 lbs, 285 lbs
Bench - 190 lbs, 205 lbs

Your 20rm targets are circa my 1rm pr’s… so much goodness in here mate. Keep at it.

[SvenG]

@raven78

so much goodness in here

Thanks for that, my friend! I feel like I’ve been working hard lately, so maybe it’s paying off.

@raven78

Keep at it.

I wish I could explain just how timely this comment is. Thanks for the encouragement!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w3d2

Monday - 27 June 2022
Workout: Squat & squat WM, 0910-1035 (85 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0932; End: 1024; Duration: 52 minutes
Squat - 155x5, 185x5, 220x5 | 255x5, 285x5, 320x5 | (255x5)x5
Pull-up - BW - 15, 14, 6
Dip - 60 - 16, 15, 4
Cable crunch - 50 - 20, 20, 10
BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
Push-up - 30
Good morning - 115 - 20, 5

Squat - 235 - 20

Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 75 reps

Holy C-R-A-P! I just matched my squat WM PR (235x20) from a few weeks ago (14 June) after—yes, AFTER—a full 1s week squat workout. I’m feeling like some kind of animal right now, and it’s awesome!

Came in well-fed—went way off menu with pizza, breadsticks, and some chocolate cake last night (uh-oh!)—and feeling strong. Kept waiting to stumble back into reality, but it just didn’t happen. Main work in 16 minutes, supplemental in 19, assistance superset throughout. Lower abs were touchy during the brace for the first few warm-up sets and the last few supplemental sets, but I didn’t do any further damage. Stuck with the cable crunches too, just to be sure. (That’s the plan for the rest of the week as well.)

The top set was very hard and my form was probably ugly, but then I followed it up with some decent supplemental reps and matching that WM PR—no way anyone can say that’s a bad day. Guess the 5s week did its work! And besides, it’s okay that a 3-plate squat is still hard for me: I’m progressing, one way or the other!

Daily work is all that remains for today; preference is to knock it out before lunch, but we’ll just have to see how things go.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c14w3d2

Monday - 27 June 2022
Workout: Daily work, 1215-1230 (15 minutes)

3 rounds of:
a) 1-pump burpees - 17, 17, 17
b) KB swings - 28 kg - 17, 17, 17
c) Pendlay rows - 120 lbs - 10, 10, 25

Abs are sore. Lower back is sore. All of me is pumped. Mission accomplished.

Let’s eat!