Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

[SvenG]

@kdjohn

I cannot recommend the Volume And Strength template enough

So this one looks really enticing, too. I’m already well above my current bench press goal, and this template would allow me to focus on overhead press, squat, and deadlift. I don’t expect I’d lose too much strength on bench press over the course of 10 weeks if chose my push assistance wisely.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I’m going to put it in the mix for the next set of leaders and anchor. While I’m sure JW would just say pick something and get on with it, I’ve still got 5 weeks yet to mull it over.

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - d3

Tuesday - 31 August 2021
Workout: Squat + extra conditioning, 0910-0955 (45 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Squat - 100x5, 125x5, 150x5 | 175x5, 200x3, 225x1, 245x1
HLR - 18+2, 16+4
Band pushdown - red - 25
Chin-up/pull-up - BW - 7/7, 6/6
Push-up - 25
BPA - red - 1x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)

50 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between

Not bad today. About 15 minutes for warm-up, etc., and 21 minutes for the lifting portion, but followed immediately with burpees + swings, so 45 minutes overall (give or take a little).

As before, 100% TM for just 1 rep. Confident to say I had 3 clean reps in me. Probably had 5, just not sure they’d be fast enough. Going to stick with 245 for squat TM in anchor, but will back that off during the cycle if necessary. TM testing will follow before next leader, so we’ll see how things go.

Rest was good. Tried a new setup for HLRs, not sure I like it: Felt unnecessarily hard to keep from swinging, such that I wasn’t really focusing on my abs. Might try it again one more time, but I will go back to the original setup if I can’t get the right muscles working in this new configuration.

Not much else to say, so I guess that’s it for today.

[TriednTrue]

I remember reading the first handful of your posts; your improvement since January 2020 is inspirational. I’m looking forward to reading about what you’re doing now.

[cstan097]

Awesome progress man

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - d4

Wednesday - 01 September 2021
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0800-0850 (50 minutes)

25 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings
Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 35 minutes
25 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings

Done (fasted).

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - d5

Thursday - 02 September 2021
Workout: Bench + extra conditioning, 0925-1005 (40 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Bench - 100x5, 120x5, 145x5 | 170x5, 195x3, 220x1, 240x1
Band face pull - red - 25
Band pushdown - red - 25
Bulgarian split squat - L/R - BW - 25, 25
Push-up - 25
Pull-up/chin-up - BW - 7/7, 6/6

50 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between

All good today. About 18 minutes for actual lifting. Bench moved really fast today, but 220 and 240 felt heavy off the rack. Such it is lifting without a spotter. 240 moved fast, definitely had 3 in me, likely 5 at proper speed—good to go for anchor.

Straight into daily burpees + swings. Swings felt heavy and slow today, had my HR in mid-170s. Not a bad thing, just a bit weird.

[theinneroh]

@SvenG

mid-170s.

Damn, that’s redlining for me.

[SvenG]

Yeah, me too!

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - d6

Friday - 03 September 2021
Workout: Deadlift + extra conditioning, 1125-1215 (50 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Deadlift - 115x5, 145x5, 175x5 | 200x5, 230x3, 260x1, 280x1, 285x1
Ab wheel - ramp (8) - 20, 20
Chin-up/pull-up - BW - 7/7, 6/6
Band pushdown - red - 25
BPA - red - 1x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
Push-up - 25

50 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between

Okay, weird morning. First, this work was fasted: out the door early, but got up about an hour late, so just no time. Likewise, I have to turn around and head out again soon, so no time for eating breakfast/lunch before working out.

Second, was very aware of my left SI joint from warm-ups forward. Again, not pain per se—certainly not like with my right one last year—but definitely felt it on deadlifts, ab wheel, and burpees + swings. Not sure what’s up with that. Mostly it’s just annoying.

Third, I messed up my plates on the last set and ended up doing 1 rep at 280. Saw the problem and decided to get the 1 rep at 285 as well. Not sure that mattered, at all, but whatever…

Lifting portion took about 23 minutes—lots of plate changes today, and that always slows me down. (Maybe the SI joint did too? At least subconsciously? Don’t really think so…) Oh, and that extra set with the correct weight…

260, 280, and 285 were slow off the ground, but not hard. Again, confident in 3 reps, probably 5 in there today as well. Thinking that since I feel pretty good about 3 reps at these TMs across all lifts, I should call that 90% of my estimated 1RM. Doesn’t matter, in the end, because 5s PRO, 5x5 FSL uses a TM between 85% and 90%, and the ones I’ve used this week are just based on cycle-to-cycle increase, so it is what it is. And there you go.

Gotta cut the grass today, but that’ll come later.

[boilerman]

@SvenG

Gotta cut the grass superset with curls today,

Added a little flavor in there for you

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - d7

Saturday - 04 September 2021
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0640-0730 (50 minutes)

25 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings
Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 35 minutes
25 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings

Done (fasted).

[SvenG]

7WP, Deload - summary

Very happy with the week, went well overall. Workouts were short and sweet, but effective. Hit all the 100% TM lifts easily enough; feel confident I could’ve hit 3 reps on each, 5 on some, so I’ll be sticking with those for the anchor cycle. Also hit all of my goals for the week: got 3 weighted vest walks in, did 50 burpees + swings each day, and I did much better with my food choices for most of the week.

My appetite was still through the roof. I found that surprising at first, as I expected it to decrease because of the reduction in workload. But given that it did not, I’m guessing that my engine is just running full throttle, and a week of reduced volume just wasn’t enough to slow it down. If that’s true, then I’m totally stoked—I want to use what I eat. That said, I’m glad the work will be ramping up again: I don’t think it’s realistic to eat that much and work that little for too long without just getting fat.

Anyway, the 7th Week Protocol, Deload week was just what I needed and I’m ready to forge ahead. I’m now starting 5s PRO, 5x5 FSL as an anchor. Goals include:

• Increase hard conditioning (sled push) to 4 days/week
• 3 days of easy conditioning + direct calf work
• 100 burpees + swings and 90 BPAs every day
• Continue cleaning up diet

TMs for this cycle:

Press - 120 lbs
Squat - 245 lbs
Bench - 240 lbs
Dead - 285 lbs

Okay, that’s that. Let’s do this!

Edit: It’s worth noting that my sleep was pretty incredible this week, too. I don’t use an alarm except under special circumstances, and I slept about an hour to an hour-and-a-half later than usual almost every day this week. I felt a bit sleepy in the afternoon only one or two days, and I’m thinking that was actually due to lack of work more than anything else. So I’m really, really happy with the rest I got this week but I’m looking forward to working hard again.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d1

Sunday - 05 September 2021
Workout: Easy conditioning + calves, 0845-0950 (65 minutes)

Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 35 minutes
Seated CR - mtor - 180x12, 200x12 | 220x12 + isofail: 15s
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round

Fasted. Bumped the CR weights up by 10 lbs. Jump rope tabata was easier than I would’ve guessed, particularly considering I didn’t really do any high-intensity stuff last week. HR in mid-160s by the end, but I could’ve done a few more on/off rounds without dying.

Curiosity got the better of me last week, so I used Google Maps to estimate the distance of the route I take on these 35-minute walks, and it’s just over two miles. I had guessed it was about half that, so I’m happy to learn my pace is much quicker than I initially figured.

Burpees + swings, Orbison WOD, and BPAs to follow later this afternoon.

[ChickenLittle]

It was hard for me to like a post that includes 100 burpees a day. The like was for the “let’s do this!” Part of the post.

[SvenG]

@ChickenLittle

hard for me to like a post that includes 100 burpees a day

That makes two of us!

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d1

Sunday - 05 September 2021
Workout: Extra conditioning, 1755-1835 (40 minutes)

20 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings

Orbison WOD - 20 rounds, EMOM
a) 4 1-pump burpees
b) 6 air squats
c) 8 sit-ups

80 KB swings - 20 kg - 4x20, 20-second rest between
BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)

Started to wonder if I was going to get this one in, but I finally did. Liked the Orbison WOD—had about 10-15 seconds to rest between rounds, even in the later ones, and it moved quickly. Together with the burpees + swings buy-in and Orbison, the follow-up swings topped off the 100 daily of each. Took 90-second rests between sets of BPAs.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d2

Monday - 06 September 2021
Workout: Squat, 0740-0830 (50 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0753; End: 0826; Duration: 33 minutes
Squat - 90x5, 115x5, 135x5 | 160x5, 185x5, 210x5 | (160x5)x5
HLR - 15, 15, 15
Dip - +45 - 12, 10, 8
Pull-up - BW - 12, 8+4, 6
Push-up - 20
Band face pull - red - 20

Fasted. Weird schedule because of holiday, so needed to get this done.

Superset the assistance moves with the main/supplemental sets. Pace was good—didn’t dawdle, but I don’t think I was moving as quickly as during P&FLT workouts, particularly given the number of reps for assistance moves. I’m okay with that this time around. I also don’t want to put a hard limit on the lifting portion just yet, but I’m thinking about 35 minutes for the upper end seems a reasonable time relative to the 45-minute limit of those P&FLT workouts.

210 felt heavy off the rack, but moved pretty well after the first rep or two. Everything else was as expected. Tried the new setup again for first set of HLR, really didn’t feel right, so I went back to the old config for remaining sets. Weighted dips felt really good; breathing was not a limiting factor. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I could probably tolerate another 10-15 lbs on those—we’ll see how things go over the next few days.

I’m targeting the upper end of assistance reps that JW recommends when pushing hard conditioning to 4 days/week, so that’s about 50 reps total for each of push, pull, and single leg/core. We’ll see how that goes once I actually start pushing the sled that often. My current plan is to do the sled push after the main lifting workout on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Given that, then, I will push the sled, hit up 100 burpees + swings, and do the BPAs later today.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d2

Monday - 06 September 2021
Workout: Hard + extra conditioning, 1205-1240 (35 minutes)

Sled push - 8x50 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
Goal: 15:00; Time: 7:19

100 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 10-20-18-16-14-12-10, X-second rest after each set of X burpees + swings

BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)

Bumped up to 3 plates on the sled for 222 lbs total, or about 1.15x BW (based on the last time I weighed myself, which was eons ago). Cut the distance in half (8x50 yards = 400 yards total), but didn’t change the time goal. Based on where I came in, and that it’s squat day, I think cutting the time goal in half to 7:30 is reasonable. That’ll keep me honest over the long run—no sandbagging, and realistic even on less-than-stellar days.

So I’ll do this heavier weight at least twice a week for a shorter distance, and maybe do the lighter weight (2 plates) for a longer distance the other two days? Or I could do heavier weight each time and push for adding distance over the long run? Or…? There are a million ways to slice it, so I’ll just see what I feel like—guessing I’ll end up heavier/shorter, because I like that I got the whole conditioning workout done in 35 minutes. Time will be at a premium as this fall continues to ramp up.

Only other thing to note is that burpees still suck.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d3

Tuesday - 07 September 2021
Workout: Press, 0935-1020 (45 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0949; End: 1017; Duration: 28 minutes
Press - 45x5, 55x5, 70x5 | 80x5, 90x5, 105x5 | (80x5)x5
Bulgarian split squat - L/R - 20 - 15, 15
Incline DB press - 60 - 15, 15
Chin-up - BW - 12, 10, 8
Band pushdown - red - 20
OA row - L/R - 40 - 12, 8
Cable crunch - 40 - 20

Fasted—weird schedule again. Also slept really badly, but I’m feeling okay for now.

Main/supplemental superset with assistance. Press moved well, top set felt heavy but moved fast. Used weight (20-lbs DB in each hand) with Bulgarian split squats today, planning to do deficit lunges on Friday. Added (slight) incline DB press, 60-lbs DBs, last set was tough. Chins went well, last set was tough here too. Added 5 lbs to one-arm rows; left side is weak, but they went better than expected. Could even bump up to 45-lbs DB, maybe, because reps are low compared to P&FLT.

Wanted to get sled push done right away, but feeling fatigued (and hungry), so I’ll hit that up with other conditioning stuff this afternoon.

[SvenG]

5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c3w1d2

Tuesday - 07 September 2021
Workout: Hard + extra conditioning, 1150-1225 (35 minutes)

Sled push - 8x50 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
Goal: 7:30; Time: 7:03

100 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 30-25-20-15-10, X-second rest after each set of X burpees + swings

BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)

Got that in. Sled felt hard, but it was fast(er). Maybe it was hard because it was faster. Anyway, looks like I’m going heavier/shorter, at least in the near-term. Will likely progress distance—slowly—over the weeks ahead. Burpees + swings had my HR in mid-170s after first set. 90-second rest between sets of BPAs. Those felt particularly good today, like they gave me some kind restorative pump.