Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 14 minutes (to park)
Easy run - 9 laps, about 1750m - 9:11
Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 15 minutes (from park)
Seated CR - mtor - 180x12, 200x12 | 220x12 + isofail: 16s
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
Fasted. Kids out the door, then straight into this.
Based on the way I felt when I woke up, that time on the run is suspect; did I lose count? That said, based on the way I felt during the run—especially the first several laps—and even now, I’m gonna say it was a full 9 laps: Felt like heaven to get my legs moving.
Good work today. Lower back didn’t feel bad, certainly not like it did during swings yesterday afternoon. We fired up the hot tub over the weekend, so I let the jets work their magic last night for about 20 minutes before bed. Not sure it helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
Pace was decent today; not rushing, and actually resting a bit between sets, particularly during the pull-ups. Still finished lifting in under 35 minutes.
Deads moved fast today, had some left in the tank at the end of supplemental sets. Lowered incline for the ab wheel a notch (higher number == closer to ground), and those went well. Crushed the dips, definitely had more to give there—loving the fact that breathing is not an issue in these lower rep sets. Got all 30 pull-ups without any mini-sets; they were tough, but that’s still a big win in my book.
As usual, sled push, burpees + swings, and BPAs at some point later today.
Nothing like the threat of lightning while pushing around what amounts to a giant lightning rod to get yourself moving: 6:54 is a personal record on the sled push for 8x50 yds at 222 lbs. Maybe I have been sandbagging it… Or maybe that was more like a sled push test than a sled push workout.
Burpees + swings remain sick. I almost lost my lunch afterwards. Only 60 seconds of rest between sets of BPAs today, because… Well, because that’s just how it went.
So yeah, good day: deadlifts went better than expected, new (though inadvertent) PR on the heavy sled push, and I didn’t get struck by lightning.
Fasted. Gotta figure out this new schedule—not really trying to do these lifting workouts in a fasted state. On the other hand, it’s not (yet) affecting performance and I’m getting my calories, so… Does it matter?
Apparently today’s workout was a sprint. Moved really, really quickly with little to no rest between movements. But I was killing it, so maybe just get out of the way?
Kinda hate how strong my bench is compared to my other lifts. TM could be too low, but even so, I think I’m just weak everywhere else.
Feels like I could go up to 50-lbs DBs on one-arm rows, up to 50 lbs on upright row, maybe 2x25 DBs on Bulgarian—though they still burn like crazy—and maybe to next band (purple?) for pushdowns. Added a twist with elbow-to-opposite-knee on cable crunch, not sure it had the intended effect; will try that another time or two, but may just abandon that.
I’ve noticed with me it seems there’s always one loft progressing faster than others and it randomly changes. I never seem to progress on multiple things at once. Like mentioned ride this wave of progress until the next comes!
Very important to remember. Don’t get down on yourself for your strengths, embrace them. Knowing your strengths allows you to see where you need to put in a little extra work.
I’ve always had a strong deadlift compared to my other lifts, but my pressing (bench and OHP) has always been abysmal. Just means I know my presses need a little extra loving.
BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
(Short) BB curls - 50
Hm; no lightning, no PR. I might be onto something with this risk-of-lightning-strike thing…
Not a bad time, regardless. Sled pushes earlier in the week felt like a slog; today, it felt good to get the legs pumping. Did the rest of it too (only 60-seconds rest between BPAs, because… that’s what I did yesterday), so today is in the books.
Oh, right: starting work towards Pwn’s “1x100 curls once a week” thing. (Poundstone curls, I think?) Today’s goal was 50 reps in as few sets as possible with my short barbell (30 lbs). Turns out that was a bit too easy: the last 13 required some actual thought to get the bar up, but got 'em all in one set.
Guess I’ll bump up rep goal to something like 60 next week, and then aim to beat the count in the first set each week. Or maybe try the full-length barbell (45 lbs) for 50 in one set? Again, there are a million ways to slice it. Guess we’ll just see what happens next week.
Saturday - 11 September 2021 Workout: Extra conditioning, 1125-1200 (35 minutes)
45 KB swings - 20 kg
(Modified) Stimulus Travel WOD 7 - 15 rounds, EMOM
a) 3 pull-ups
b) 3 burpees
55 1-pump burpees + 20-kg KB swings - 30-25, 30-second rest between
BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
A few notes about that WOD: First, I didn’t pick the name. Second, I replaced push-ups with pull-ups (alternating among various grips) because I wanted more pulling today. Third, I’m almost embarrassed to say I did it—it was way, way too easy.
I didn’t think too much about workload, just saw that it included some burpees and that I could get some more pull by replacing the push. But after I completed the first round of work and stood around for 30-40 seconds, I realized I should’ve payed more attention.
But, hey, the work is the work and so I did some burpees and got some additional pull-ups in. And those reps were the best damn reps you’ve ever seen. Next time, though, I want my HR to exceed 125 bpm. Maybe tabata-style rounds or something?
Luckily, the follow-up burpees + swings got my HR into the 160s, so we’ll call it good. Oh, and 60-second rest periods between BPAs again today.
I feel like a WOD like that would be best served using slow, deliberate and perfect reps. Pause at the bottom, pause at the top, full 1-second counts at each stage of a burpee, etc etc.
Not much to say beyond the fact that it was a good 5s week. Really liking the 4 days of hard conditioning, the lifts themselves went pretty well, and the workouts move quickly. The reduction in assistance is okay, and probably what I need, but I’m still finding my way in pushing the moves while doing far fewer reps—I can probably tolerate more weight on many (or even most) of those.
Diet was really pretty good this week, and I’m getting enough food. Legs have been tired—I think that’s just the extra weight on the sled, and the more frequent work (even if total weekly distance is the same), mostly—but not under-recovered. Just going to have to make sure this week’s lifts move well, and adapt food intake as necessary.
Goals for the week:
Complete all 4 lifting workouts
Continue with 4 days of hard conditioning
Continue with 3 days of easy conditioning + direct calf work
Do 50 devil’s presses with 2x30-lbs DBs and 90 BPAs every day
Eat right
Not putting a time limit on the lifting workouts, because unlike P&FLT, JW didn’t and it feels totally arbitrary—I’m happy with my pace, so that’ll just be more of the same. Going to replace daily burpees + swings with devil’s presses using 30-lbs DBs this week; they seem like a challenging alternative, and they’ll be a nice change of pace. Hopefully 50 daily reps is the right place to start, but I can adjust upward if necessary.
Weighted vest walk - 20 kg - 35 minutes
Seated CR - mtor - 180x12, 200x12 | 220x12 + isofail: 18s
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
Fasted. Last two sets of calf raises felt particularly challenging today. Chaos WOD, any remaining devil’s presses, and BPAs later. Oh, and I should probably cut the grass (and superset that with some curls, @boilerman? ) this afternoon too.
Sunday - 12 September 2021 Workout: Extra conditioning, 0835-0900 (25 minutes)
Chaos WOD - AMRAP, 10 minutes
a) X devil’s press - 2x30 lbs
b) X thruster - 2x30 lbs
X = 1, 2, …
7 full rounds + 8 reps (finished last 8 reps in an additional 0:23)
14 Devil’s presses - 2x30 lbs
BPA - red - 3x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
Still fasted.
So this Chaos WOD is beautifully horrible. And it turns out devil’s presses turn me into an uncoordinated mess. (Thrusters continue to bury me, too, but that’s expected.) Yep, I love to hate this one—gonna make it a regular.
Took about 2:30 (!) to finish up 14 remaining devil’s press reps to bring daily total to 50. Did two mini-sets (10+4), put the DBs down between. 60-seconds rest between sets of BPAs, which felt difficult for some reason.
Slight change of plans: headed to the amusement park with the kids for a bit this morning, then I’ll get to the lawn. Hopefully.
Good way to start 3s week. Squat moved well, even 225. Didn’t have to psych myself up to hit 5 clean reps either. Just got under the bar and owned them. Tired by the end—not in my legs, but everywhere else. Guess that’s why it’s a compound movement.
Went up in weight on dips, still had more to give. Will probably try +55 or +60 next week. Chins were good, too—nice and smooth overall. Nothing to say about push-ups or face pulls, really.
) this afternoon too.