I’ve pretty much abandoned the shake, and now favor vanilla flavored whey because it mixes well with oats and frozen berries.
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7WP, Deload - 2026.d1d7
Saturday - 17 January 2026
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0825-0900 (35 minutes)
2 rounds of:
Thruster - 2x35 lbs - 8
Chin-up - BW - 6
1-pump burpee - 6
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 20 minutes
That’s it for today, and that’s it for the deload.
On to the first God Sven is a Beast - Anchor tomorrow!
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God Sven is a Beast - Anchor - 2026.c6w1d1
Sunday - 18 January 2026
Workout: Squat + bench, 1335-1445 (70 minutes)
Jumps/“throws”
Begin: 1343; End: 1432; Duration: 49 minutes
Squat - 225x3, 260x3, 290x3, 240x3, 275x3, 305x5
Bench - 170 lbs - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Wendler row - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 10
Seated DB press - 2x52.5 lbs - 10, 10, 10
HLR - 10, 10, 10
Rear delt flye - 2x20 lbs - 10, 10
Dip - 45 lbs - 10, 10
Neck extension - 30 lbs - 10, 10
Assault bike - 5 minutes
Assistance totals:
Push - 50 reps
Pull - 50 reps
Single-leg/core - 50 reps
Main work in 22 minutes, supplemental in 19 minutes, assistance superset throughout.
That was a lackluster workout: The sets at 290 and 305 are 3+ sets in the anchor, but those weights are also still in range of my Super Squats run awhile back, so I would’ve needed 21+ and 16+, respectively, for rep PRs.
It took me 18 workouts over 6 weeks all while eating my face off to build to 305x15, so I knew that wasn’t happening today.
The good news: The pressure was off…
The bad news: The pressure was off…
And that meant my heart just wasn’t in it. I did 5 reps because I could, but I had no real skin in the game, so I called it once it got “hard.”
The rest of it was “fine” (once again!), but there’s not much else to say, really. I know I’ll be thankful for the deload in about 6 weeks when I’m in Week 3 of the second anchor, but the first workout or two after a deload is always kind of blah regardless of how much I actually did need the recovery it affords.
Meh.
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This made me chuckle. Lol
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There’s no shame in that. Thats the idea of 531 so far as I can work out. Keep the weights at a spot that you are crushing them.
I personally find for these PR sets that you have to pick a number before you get under the bar. For me that is 10 on the 5+ week, 6 on the 3+ week, and 3 on the 1+.
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I totally agree: If I don’t have a target number, I just won’t push myself as far as I really can go.
In fact, that’s why I looked at my PR logbook and discovered the Super Squats sets: I wanted to know my target!
Ugh…
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God Sven is a Beast - Anchor - 2026.c6w1d1
Sunday - 18 January 2026
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1955-2025 (30 minutes)
Walk - 30 minutes
I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t miss these post-dinner walks, but there’s a chance they’re so much better for me than I even realize.
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What is it about us as a species, if it’s good for us, chances are we probably don’t enjoy it, if it’s bad for us we freaking love it.
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I have the dog now, and he needs decent walks. On the days my husband is available to exercise him I’m glad to be relieved of it, but a the same time, I’m always happy during and after our 40 minute walk.
Like so many things, it’s the getting ready and starting out that’s unpleasant. The walk itself grounds me and leaves me refreshed, both physically and emotionally. I’d still walk without him (long history shows this) but less frequently and probably not as consistently far.
I love walking in the woods, but the morning dog walk feels like a chore, and I resist it, despite it feeling good.
I think the bad things are the easy things. Grab some ice cream and turn on the TV vs bundle up and leave the house for a walk. But I don’t think the chips/tv are more enjoyable than the walk. Just easier.
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I’ve adopted a similar approach if/when I run a 5/3/1 cycle. The true PR sets made me not enjoy the workouts. Going in on deads or squats and thinking “I have to hit 18 reps to beat my last estimate 1RM” and it stressed me out. This is my hobby, so I’m not looking for extra stress. I enjoy it much more if I cap it at 10 on the 5s week, 8 on the 3s week, and 5 on the 1s week. I also don’t end up grinding reps that way.
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I wouldn’t exactly hate a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos on my walk…
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Carbs and cardio do pair nicely! 
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God Sven is a Beast - Anchor - 2026.c6w1d2
Monday - 19 January 2026
Workout: Deadlift + press, 1430-1540 (70 minutes)
Jumps/“throws”
Begin: 1440; End: 1527; Duration: 47 minutes
Press - 100 lbs - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Deadlift - 250x3, 285x3, 320x3, 270x3, 305x3, 340x5
One-arm DB row - L/R - 62.5 lbs - 10, 10, 10
Decline DB press - 2x72.5 lbs - 10, 10, 10
Ab wheel - ramp (14) - 10, 10, 10
Face pull - 70 lbs - 10, 10
Skull crusher - 2x35 lbs - 10, 10
Neck flexion - 30 lbs - 10, 10
Assault bike - 5 minutes
Assistance totals:
Push - 50 reps
Pull - 50 reps
Single-leg/core - 50 reps
Main work in 28 minutes, supplemental in 14 minutes, assistance superset throughout.
No rep PRs today—just not feeling it. (Though I am feeling yesterday’s squats more than I expected!)
Weird order today with the supplemental before the main work. I think it’s been written that way in a few other templates that I’ve run, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually ran it that way. JW would probably say it doesn’t really make a difference, and I’m inclined to believe it, but I ran it that way today just because…
Used straps on the top set, called it at 5. The reps were awesome—strong and controlled—but I noticed some hip shift on a few of the reps while lowering the bar, so I’m gonna have to watch that moving forward.
The rest of this week will be strange: I’ve got all day meetings Tuesday-Thursday, and I present twice on Wednesday. I’ll find a way to get it all done, I’m just not sure exactly what that looks like just yet…
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100%
I think the mindset shift is from “testing” strength to demonstrating it.
I can demonstrate strengrh without digging a recovery hole that will ba hard to climb out of.
It might be a part of maturing but realising I dont have to prove anything to anyone in this training game helps.
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God Sven is a Beast - Anchor - 2026.c6w1d2
Monday - 19 January 2026
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1835-1900 (25 minutes)
Walk - 25 minutes
Typical route, atypical temps: mid-teens with a harsh, stiff wind—I had to move quickly, otherwise I’d be a popsicle!
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God Sven is a Beast - Anchor - 2026.c6w1d3
Tuesday - 20 January 2026
Workout: Conditioning + calves, 0645-0715 (30 minutes)
Standing calf raise - BW - 3 minutes
Reps: 116
Tabata burpee - 8x(20 on/10 off)
Reps: 8x5 (40 total)
EMOM - 15 minutes
Cluster - 115 lbs - 3
Fasted.
Today’s early(-ish) morning work brought to you by: All Day Meetings—What better way to waste your day than existing in Teams?
Not a bad morning. Switching calf raise variations again (back to standing), and these were surprisingly easy: Very little burn, relatively speaking. We’ll see how these play out over the next several days, but if I need to add weight, I will.
I was happy with the tabata work: I wasn’t redlining and I was able to get 5 good reps in each round, but I could feel myself getting slower and slower as time wore on—and that set me up nicely for the EMOM.
So yeah, the EMOM. There wasn’t any particular rep—or even round—in which I died, but let me tell you: I was dying!
My HR was up immediately, and for the first several rounds, it would come back down, but eventually it was up and just stayed up. I think the clusters are the best “replacement” for the sled push that I’ve found so far, so we’ll stick with that when the weather doesn’t allow outside work.
Speaking of: Nevermind the snow/ice layer on the driveway, it’s low-single digits here this morning—ugh!
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With the amount of C and C you are doing, I know picture you walking around the neighborhood in shorts constantly flexing you calves.
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I felt this in my soul. I sit in many, many meetings (both physical and online) where I wonder, what is the point? People seem so intensely interested and invested in things, I can’t help but wonder, are they just full of crap? Or do they really buy their own sense of self importance? Not just my current role but really most office roles in bureaucratic work places, seems like almost everyone is just trying to justify their workplace existence.
Sorry ranting and this probably wasn’t the reaction that was supposed to illicit, but your comment got me haha, too many hours of my life spent as a small rectangle, talking to other small rectangles, both us pretending what we’re talking about is actually important. Sorry started again, I’m done now.
On a positive note, really great work in here, as always, consistency and discipline in action.
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