Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

@TrainForPain - Started a reply over your way, but it got long and I didn’t want to clog up your log, so I moved it here.

Not at all, my man—I haven’t said too much about it, really. Mostly I just whine in my log from time to time. You really haven’t missed anything!

In any case, I only meant “rough” w.r.t. work/life balance (and mostly training/nutrition in the “life” part of that balance). It’s why your “I’ve earned my way into Y” resonated with me: I’ve earned my way into the work/life balance issues—and in some sense, that’s been my goal all along.

My awareness of the imbalance has become more acute as my daughter starts high school in the fall, which itself starts the 4-year clock. As former university profs, both Mrs. SvenG and I are very aware of just how little time 4 years actually is…

But on the whole, we’re doing well: I’m working the work, we’re enjoying the added benefits it has afforded, my wife and kids are thriving, I’m still getting time under the bar, and my daughter’s launch into the high school years is both appropriate and exciting!

Sorry I wrote a book. But I appreciate you asking!

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It sounds like we’re both in the same place in a lot of ways! It really can be a bit overwhelming, so I totally get it. Honestly just typing this out and thinking about my own son about to turn 14 is having me a little morose.

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w4d6

Friday - 12 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 1830-1855 (25 minutes)

5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cals
DB squeeze press - 2x40 lbs - 10
Clean & press - 85 lbs - 8

Finished that just in time for dinner!

Fast on the bike (caffeine FTW?), decent MMC (but not as good as last week?), the right weight for C&P ('cause 10 lbs matters?), so there you go.

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w4d7

Saturday - 13 July 2024
Workout: Deadlift, 0420-0455 (35 minutes)

Begin: 0429; End: 0549; Duration: 20 minutes
Deadlift - 140x5, 170x5, 200x5 | 230x5, 260x5, 290x5
Dip - 10 lbs - 10, 10
CS DB row - 2x50 lbs - 10, 10
Ab wheel - ramp (19) - 6, 6

Fasted.

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I am a little late to the party but still want to wish a happy belated birthday! I know things haven’t been easy lately but I am sure a lot of people reading this log will agree with me when I say: You are an inspiration, man!

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@Koestrizer - Thanks, my dude! It’s never too late for birthday wishes, haha.

And thanks for your comments re: “inspiration.” That means a lot, and it’s such a big part of the community here—we keep each other moving forward!

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d1

Sunday - 14 July 2024
Workout: Squat, 0900-0935 (35 minutes)

Begin: 0909; End: 0933; Duration: 24 minutes
Squat - 120x5, 150x5, 175x5 | 200x5, 230x5, 255x5
Dip - 10 lbs - 10, 10
BB row - 125 lbs - 5 + 5, 5 + 5
HLR - 10, 10 + 2 + 0

Fasted. And pretty much a repeat of last time (w3d1), right down to the last set of HLRs—today, though, even the 2 extras were sketchy, so I tried even more… But nope! Abs were shot. (Pretty sure it’s from yesterday’s ab wheel reps, though.)

Squats, dips, and rows were super-solid today, went slow on everything and really focused on the muscules rather than on just moving the weight.

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d2

Monday - 15 July 2024
Workout: Pull, 0425-0520 (55 minutes)

Surge - 0429-0504
Warm-up

Begin: 0435; End: 0518; Duration: 43 minutes
a) WG lat pulldown - 100x12, 110x10, 120x(7+2), 130x(4+3), 100xf (12)
b) BB row - 125 lbs - 10+10, 10+10, 10+10
c1) Cable face pull - 25 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
c2) Cable lat pullthrough - 45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
d) DB curl - 25 lbs - 7L + 7R + 7L/R
e) DB hammer curl - 25 lbs - 7L + 7R + 7L/R
f) Pull-up - BW - 4+1, 4+1, 4+1, 3+2, 3+2

Semi-fasted: Black coffee upon waking, 0.5 serving of Surge as above.

That was a struggle from start to finish—think I used up all my juice on the first two sets of lat pulldowns!

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d2

Monday - 15 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 1810-1835 (25 minutes)

5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cals
CS DB row - 2x50 lbs - 10
Clean & press - 85 lbs - 8

Not sure why, but everything is kickin’ my big fat butt today. (Well, maybe it’s because my butt is big and fat?)

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d3

Tuesday - 16 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 0425-0510 (45 minutes)

5 rounds of:
Sled ground-to-overhead - about 85 lbs - 10
Standing calf raise - BW - 20
Hanging leg raise - 6 (1, 3); Ab mat crunch - 10 lbs - 10 (2, 4); Knees-to-chest - 10 (5)

Fasted.

I don’t know if it’s fatigue or what, but that was tough. Oh, and my abs are still shot.

Also, I’ve lost any kind of spontaneity my conditioning work might have once had. I’m not sure the rut I’m in with this work is serving me well…

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Thanks Sven, I agree with this! Move every day. I try to do split squats in the stairwell multiple times a day to promote healing of my left knee as well as flexibility. Feels great. Ideally I’d do light clubbell work too, but often I’m just too knackered, especially my grip. Would defo benefit from being more consistent with light work on my off days. How many heavy days do you do per week?

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@amaeland - With 5/3/1, which has been my go-to for the past few years, I’d say it’s typically 4 days of heavy lifting: The work sets of overhead, bench, dead, and squat each get their own day.

But now with the BB-style training I’ve been doing lately, it’s been a PPL split with added squats and deadlifts on the weekends. Not sure if that’s 5 days of heavy lifting or just 2, because I’m not sure “heavy” applies to the BB workouts.

On the other hand, “make light weights feel heavy” has been my mantra for the past several weeks, so… I’ll let you be the judge!

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d3

Tuesday - 16 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 1650-1720 (30 minutes)

Farmer’s walk - 50 yards + DB shrug - 15 - 2x65 lbs

5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cals
Air squat - 10
KB swing - 32 kg - 15

Farmer’s walk - 50 yards + DB shrug - 15 - 2x65 lbs

Whether I’m stuck in a rut or not, I like that one: Everything burns, and pretty much from the outset, too!

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Sorry to hear that things are a little tough right now. The funny thing I find with training is how hard it is to get back to regular conditioning. After a break hitting the gym is easy even with the soreness. But talking myself into 100 burpees or sandbag runs or echo bike is like a drawn out political debate where nothing gets decided and nothing gets done. I am sure the work rut will pass with time, I know it can be hard but try and focus on the positives and just get it done.

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@simo74 - Spot on, mate!

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d4

Wednesday - 17 July 2024
Workout: Lower, 0410-0505 (55 minutes)

Surge - 0414-0445
Warm-up

Begin: 0420; End: 0503; Duration: 43 minutes
a) Heel-elevated goblet squat + air squat - 32 kg - 10 + 10, 10 + 10, 10 + 10, 10 + 10
b1) DB RDL - 2x40 lbs - 10, 10, 10
b2) B-stance DB RDL - 2x40 lbs - 10L + 10R, 10L + 10R, 10L + 10R
c1) Deficit KB sumo deadlift - 32 kg - 10, 10, 10, 10
c2) Bulgarian split squat - 2x40 lbs - 8L + 8R, 8L + 8R, 8L + 8R, 8L + 8R
d) Walking lunge - 2x30 lbs - 2xf (16L + 16R, 16L + 16R)

Semi-fasted: Black coffee upon waking, 0.5 serving of Surge as above.

Several nights of poor sleep is definitely catching up with me, but I made it through. Tried using a KB with a deep deficit on the sumo deadlifts this morning. I could feel it in my adductors and glutes more, but the 32 kg KB just wasn’t really heavy enough. Might try those with a landmine T-bar setup or something next time, because I think it was more effective in the end, despite being lighter.

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d4

Wednesday - 17 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 1800-1820 (20 minutes)

Cindy Rides a Bike - 5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cal
Pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 5
Push-ups - 10
Air squats - 15

Despite my lamentations re: mundane or ineffective conditioning, this one hit the spot!

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Sounds better than Cindy is a bike

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What if you were the bike and Cindy rode you.

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Morgan S.'s Summer Shred - w5d5

Thursday - 18 July 2024
Workout: Conditioning, 0435-0515 (40 minutes)

5 rounds of:
Assault bike - 12 cals
Air squat - 10
KB swing - 32 kg - 15
Seated calf raise - 180 lbs - 12
Ab mat crunch - 10 lbs - 10

Fasted.

Fumbled around with the setup because I tried to do the ab wheel this morning, but crashed to my knees on the first rollout. My abs have been sore all week—last time I did the wheel was Saturday, and although I don’t remember pain or anything, I must’ve messed something up.

I’m hoping to do the sled and some farmer’s walks later today, but we’ll have see if the weather cooperates.

Speaking of which: We got a break from the heat yesterday, and I slept like a champ last night. We have central air, but it’s been so ridiculously hot that it just hasn’t been able to keep up. Anyway, point is: Decent sleep makes such a difference!

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