You are 45?! - hot damn!
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Happy Birthday!
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Happy birthday!
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Happy belated brother sir.
Looking Jacked at an age where most men blame age for their beer gut
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Happy Birthday Sven,
45 Year Old Sven Physique > Typical Middle Age Corpy Corporate Job Man
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@wardog2k, @raven78, @anna_5588, @Koestrizer, @shaneinga, @freshyfresh, @hustlinghat93, @tlgains - Thank you, one and all. You’re too kind, but I sincerely appreciate the well wishes and comments!
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Don’t Do Nothing - Day 3
Tuesday - 11 July 2023
Workout: TM work & easy conditioning, 1430-1530 (60 minutes)
Hang clean - 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x5
Straight-leg DL - 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5, 265x5
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
A bit more TM work today: Hang cleans and straight-leg deadlifts. I’ll be using 125 lbs as my TM for the former, and 245 lbs for the latter.
I thought I was catching the bar too low on the last two sets of the hang cleans, so I watched a CrossFit video after the fact, only to realize I was catching the bar way too high in ALL of the sets—I definitely wasn’t catching it at the bottom of a front squat. I’ll correct my form moving forward, but I’m still confident in my ability to hit the percentage work WITH proper form in the first cycle of BaBY, so there’s no need to work through it again.
I also tried to channel my inner @wiseman83 for the SLDLs: His are always smooth as silk and while I know he’s working hard, he makes them look effortless! I’m pretty pleased with how they went today, and though I’d feel okay about the percentage work with a TM of 265 lbs, I’m leaving myself some room to grow here, just like with all of the other new lifts for which I’ll be implementing a 5/3/1 progression.
The “easy” conditioning continues to kick my (now very fat) butt, so I’m just gonna continue kicking back—it can only get easier from here!
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Like all cleans there are some variants to the variants.
The olympic/full/squat clean has you catch the bar as quickly as you can get under, i.e., somewhere in the bottom half of your front squat.
The power clean has you catch it in a partial squat.
The hang clean can be either of those variants.
Good, short explainer here:
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Happy Birthday mate!
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@heretolog - Fantastic video, thanks for linking that! I was definitely doing a hang power clean by that video’s description. Regardless, my traps are trashed today, so it’s going to be awesome to progress these in a disciplined way.
@wiseman83 - Thanks, amigo!
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Don’t Do Nothing - Day 4
Wednesday - 12 July 2023
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1540-1620 (35 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
And on the fourth day, the Lord said, “Let there be DOMS.”
And there were DOMS.
Wow! I don’t really get sore, and I complain about it even less, but I was actually feeling it in my quads yesterday badly enough to comment—I just forgot. Today, though, it’s my quads AND my traps, so that’s cool… Or something like that.
Just some quick easy conditioning to get my HR (way, way!) up and get my blood flowing. The astute reader will notice I’m not doing any weighted vest walks—frankly, I’m tired of walking: We covered enough ground in Europe to finish out the summer, give or take a little. It’ll feature again soon enough, though.
Anyway, now I’m off to the second of 3 evening swim meets in a row!
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Don’t Do Nothing - Day 5
Thursday - 13 July 2023
Workout: TM work & easy conditioning, 1530-1650 (80 minutes)
Incline press - 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x5, 145x5
Chin-up/pull-up (strict, various grips) - BW - 10, 10, 8 + 2, 6 + 2 + 2
Dip - 45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
It’s late, I’m short on time, and even shorter on energy, but: I was struggling this afternoon. Glad I remembered chin-ups/pull-ups and dips, because I was able to suffer through the I-haven’t-done-these-in-weeks misery now rather than later. And they were miserable. M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E.
Not sure what to think about that incline press—feels super-weak compared to my regular bench, but not horrible relative to my overhead. And I was much closer to vertical than I was to horizontal—maybe a 66-degree incline or something?—so perhaps it makes sense… I’m going with 125 lbs for the TM here because—well you know why.
My kids’ swim team took 2 of their 3 meets this week, so that’s cool. The loss was our strongest showing against the team that always dominates the division, and we won definitively in the other two where in past years the scores were much closer. And my son had a particularly strong showing in his events tonight, so there’s much to celebrate!
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Don’t Do Nothing - Day 6
Friday - 14 July 2023
Workout: BaBY stuff & easy conditioning, 1525-1635 (70 minutes)
Power clean - 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x5
Kirk K. rows - 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 125x5, 135x5
HLR - 10, 6 + 4, 5, 4 + 1
Ab wheel - ramp (19) - 10, 6 + 4, 4 + 1
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Wanted to see what I could do with the hang clean weights from the floor, and I was pleasantly surprised: Figured they’d be harder, but I think I got extra pop from starting lower 'cause they were just flying up! I’ll be doing the hang version in the weeks ahead, but I’m pretty happy with how these went: Either not everything is worse than before, or I could’ve been doing more weight with cleans before my break—but to my way of thinking, that’s a win no matter how you look at it!
I like the KK rows. I’ve not done those before, so I was just messing around based on JW’s description here. They were feeling a bit awkward, but eventually I figured out a slight forward lean made the row part FAR more effective. Even with just the little bit of work I’ve done this week, I can already tell BaBY really will build a bigger yoke.
Decided to hit my abs a bit today, and like the chins and stuff yesterday, those were miserable. My goal was 3x10 for each move, but I quickly had to rest-pause the sets, and the last several ab wheel reps were very nearly worthless, so I called it before I hurt myself. I’m just going to have to accept the fact that 3 weeks off means I am ACTUALLY that out of shape. But that means there’s lots of room to improve—and hopefully pretty quickly!
I’m planning on some easy conditioning tomorrow, but then playtime is over: 5/3/1 BaBY starts on Sunday!
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Don’t Do Nothing - Day 7
Saturday - 15 July 2023
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1455-1535 (40 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Still way harder than it should be, but better than earlier in the week, I think.
It is what it is, 'cause like it or not, the fun starts tomorrow!
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Don’t Do Nothing - summary
I set a very low bar for myself this week, and unlike last time I did that, I actually cleared it this time!
In fact I am quite happy with the work I put in, little bit that it was. It felt “good” to be back in the weight room, and to sweat, and to have some real muscle soreness—that’s somehow much better than waking up sore because you’ve slept in a strange bed!
Oh, but here’s a note to future-me:
Don’t ever take 3 weeks off again.
Seriously just “don’t do nothing.” It’s not that hard, and anything else just isn’t worth it.
Alright, so… I’m moving on to Cycle 26 this week, and I’m running 5/3/1 BaBY. My goals for the week are:
- Complete all 4 lifting workouts
- Complete 4 days of extra conditioning
- Complete 3 days of easy conditioning and direct yoke work
- Complete 3 days of hard conditioning
- Eat properly
I’ve decided to run the version of BaBY JW wrote about here on T-Nation: It’s a bit more prescriptive than the version on his blog, and I think the set/rep schemes are slightly different, but mostly I just like the fact that I don’t have to think too hard about filling in the bits he doesn’t prescribe.
I’ve decided to drop the direct calf work that I’ve been running for who knows how long, and I’ve also decided to drop the direct triceps work that I’ve been running since the first of the year. Mostly it’s a time issue for my “off” days, ‘cause some of the work was taking more time than I really have to give. In the case of the former, I’m hoping hill sprints and sled pushes will at least keep my calves from getting embarrassingly small, and in the case of the latter I’m hoping CGBP will help with triceps size. Besides, if my traps and shoulders get big enough, nobody’s gonna be looking at my legs or arms, right? (Haha!)
Even so, I reserve the right to add that stuff (or something else, maybe?) back in over time—we’ll just have to see how things play out in the weeks ahead.
Anyway, I’ll be using the following TMs for the main lifts:
Press - 125 lbs
Squat - 285 lbs
Bench - 230 lbs
Dead - 330 lbs
Clean - 125 lbs
and the following for the supplemental lifts:
Incline press - 125 lbs
Front squat - 195 lbs
Close-grip bench - 195 lbs
Straight-leg deadlift - 245 lbs
That’s back to Cycle 24 TMs for the Big 4, which was the second cycle of 5x5/3/1—all the way back to late April! I didn’t bother testing these lifts, but I’m confident in my ability to hit the percentage work across the board, even with the long break. Besides, these weights once again leave me with some room to grow!
I think this is the first time I’ll be using supplemental lifts that differ from their main-lift counterparts, and it’s definitely the first time I’ll be progressing everything on that list beyond the Big 4 using 5/3/1, so it’ll be cool to see what I can do with all that.
Finally, here’s what I looked like just before my workout this morning:
You’ve seen me at my best, folks, and now you’ve seen me at my worst!
Or something close, anyway: To be fair, I have had a week to de-bloat, get regular, restart creatine, and start moving again, but even so—ugh!
The good news, though?
I can only go up from here.
Game on!
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5/3/1 BaBY - c26w1d1
Sunday - 16 July 2023
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0935-1035 (60 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 32-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes
Fasted.
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5/3/1 BaBY - c26w1d1
Sunday - 16 July 2023
Workout: Hard conditioning, 1410-1455 (45 minutes)
Pwn’s The Last Castle - 5 rounds
a) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x107 lbs
b) 15 DB lateral raise - 2x15 lbs
c) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x107 lbs
d) 20 BFP - red
Time: 23:30
Still fasted.
It feels weird not to do the calf work and whatnot, but I like that I was done in 45 minutes! And really it only took that long because I had to add 20 lbs to each of my farmer’s walk handles, which seemed to take forever for some reason. Granted, I wasn’t in a particular hurry, but still!
Anyway, that’s an additional 20 lbs per hand compared to what I had been using (87 lbs per hand), and I could definitely feel the difference in my traps, my core, and my grip. My yoke and grip were shot by the end, so that’s cool, but I’m actually thinking I’ve been going way too light on these until now…
Regardless, today’s work should be more than half-BW in each hand—at least, I’d better not weigh more than 214 right now!—and though 25 yards isn’t a particularly long distance, I’m pleased both because I was able to stay strong across all 5 rounds and because I’m looking to progress the weight on these over the next few cycles.
Today was definitely a great start!
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I was just thinking the same thing about myself. First day back at home after nearly 2 weeks away. I tried to keep up with training, but that doesn’t undo vacation lifestyle eating. I feel like I’m covered in a layer of blubber. But, like you, I’ll be right back at it tomorrow and will be my old self again in no time.
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This is a fact: We’ve built the base, and it takes a lot more than just a few weeks to undo that work.
As always, consistency is the key!
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5/3/1 BaBY - c26w1d2
Monday - 17 July 2023
Workout: Press, 0515-0625 (70 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0605
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0530; End: 0618; Duration: 48 minutes
Press - 45x5, 60x5, 70x5 | 85x5, 95x5, 110x5
CGBP - 140x10, 140x10, 140x10
Chin-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
BPA - red - 25, 25, 25
Glenn B. shrug - 2x25 lbs - 100
Neck extension - 10 lbs - 20, 15, 15
Neck flexion - 10 lbs - 20, 15, 15
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
Back on the Indigo-3G + Surge protocol today, and I actually restarted Indigo-3G before dinner yesterday. Oh, and for the record, I’ve been back on creatine, fish oil, and fiber capsules since Sunday, 9 July, too.
Warm-up sets in 9 minutes, main work in 11 minutes, supplemental CGBP sets in 9 minutes, assistance superset throughout.
Speaking of assistance, I’m not tracking the per-workout category totals because things don’t really fall out into push, pull, and single-leg/core in the version of BaBY I’m running—at least not like they do in the other templates I’ve run. It is a yoke-specialization program, after all.
This work went better than I expected, given that I’ve been sleeping in since we left for Europe: I was up naturally at 0420 this morning, but I had my alarm set for 0430 just in case. Press felt super-light until the top set—it didn’t go poorly, that’s just when I started to feel the weight. CGBP was easy-breezy, so that’s good: I’m running this cycle 5/3/1, and it’s a 5s week, so everything should feel light.
BaBY calls for 5-8 sets of 10 reps on chins, and I did the bare minimum today. They went better than expected, but even though they were unweighted, the last few reps of the last two sets started getting difficult. It’ll just take some time to build back into those, so I can think about adding weight again as things progress.
I’m going to be missing dips, though—there are no dips in BaBY. Bearing that in mind, I’ll try to incorporate them in my afternoon conditioning work when it makes sense to do so. I don’t want to fall too far out-of-practice with those (anymore than I already have with the time off, anyway!).
I’ve got the Super Legs WOD planned for later today. It’ll be interesting to see how I fare with the squat jumps: I don’t normally go in for plyo stuff, but there’s no real reason NOT to do it, so… Let’s give it a shot!
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