Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

Training Training Logs
1749

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d4

Wednesday - 23 March 2022
Workout: Calves & easy conditioning + FS tabata, 0745-0855 + 1130-1135 (70 + 5 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 13, 12+2
Seated CR - 240 - 25, 20, 15

1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10

Fasted. Mentally elsewhere this morning. Tried to zone in, but felt like I was lacking intensity.

I very nearly had 13 straight in that last set. Got stuck about half-way up for a good 2 seconds and my lungs broke before I could clear the bar. Dropped for 15 seconds to reset, cranked out two more reps. This morning’s burpees were incredibly difficult, legs are still tired it seems. Oh, and it’s raining, so I opted to skip the track and ride the stationary bike today. If the weather cooperates, I’ll run on Saturday.

I see now that I did the first front squat tabata immediately following the walk on Sunday—oops. I’ll crank that out before lunch and edit it in, I guess. Given my state of mind, maybe that’s better anyway. I’ll then hit up the jump rope work and second tabata later this afternoon.

Edit: Got the first one done—still fasted. 10s with 12 on the last. Everytime I think I might be ready to bump up to 2x30 lbs on the first of these daily tabatas, I suddenly find myself in the 3rd or 4th work interval, realizing just how wrong that thought is, haha! Probably going to have to just go for it… Maybe next week?

10 Likes
1750

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d4

Wednesday - 23 March 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1315-1335 (20 minutes)

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10
Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10
Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

8s across (easy), held rack for rest periods in rounds 1-4, 6, and 8, then down during rest in rounds 5 and 7. Hold during round 5 was excruciatingly hard, almost lost the right arm (!) once or twice—that made the 8 reps more difficult, but… I was able to hold the rack for two more rest periods than I have previously, so that’s something.

6 Likes
1751

You are human after all…! Leg refresher and more steak. That’ll sort it sir!

2 Likes
1752

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d5

Thursday - 24 March 2022
Workout: Deadlift + FS tabata, 0800-0910 + 1100-1105 (70 + 5 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0816; End: 0905; Duration: 49 minutes
Deadlift - 160x5, 190x5, 225x5 | 260x5, 295x5, 330x5 | (260x10)x5
Dip - 45 - 20, 15, 15
BFP - red - 40, 40, 20

Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10

Not a bad morning. Main work in about 9 minutes, took a 2-minute rest between sets 1-2 and a 3-minute rest between sets 2-3. Grip started to become distracting in the top set, so there was a grip reset between each rep. Did the supplemental work in about 17 minutes: 2 minutes between sets 1-4 and 4 minutes between sets 4-5. Did the first set without straps, and might have been okay for more, but I swallowed whatever my silly pride is about using them and strapped up for the remaining sets.

I also tweaked something in my lower back on the 8th rep of set 4, so I took a few extra minutes to stretch it out before the last set. It was distinctly a muscle spasm, not a joint slipping or a nerve getting pinched, and it’s not too bad now, but if I move just so and it catches me off-guard, there’s a brief twinge of pain. Glad I have more work today, 'cause that’ll keep the blood flowing. I’ll work on staying loose throughout the day too…

Crushed the assistance in 3 sets each. Wasn’t moving quickly—lots of stretching that lower back between sets—but everything felt strong. Really happy to get 20 on that first set of dips: it was just last fall that 20+ at body weight left me absolutely dying, and now I’m cranking out 20 with 1-plate and following up with additional sets. I’d call that progress!

So, yeah, it was a decent morning. The usual stuff remains, and if all goes to plan, I’ll get it done in the usual fashion.

Edit: First front squat tabata done. Had a chance to knock it out early, so I did. 10s with 12 in the last round. Was aware of my lower back, naturally, but I don’t think it “hurt” anymore than usual. Steady as she goes…

7 Likes
1753

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d5

Thursday - 24 March 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1315-1350 (35 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 11+2, 9+3+2
Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10

Sled push - 8x50 yds, 90 + sled = 177 lbs
Time: 6:27

Everything was a bit tentative this afternoon, but I got it done. Crashed on that 3rd set of pull-ups (wide neutral grip)—just couldn’t finish it off—and then again on the 4th set (supinated). Did an extra one there just because I was annoyed again.

Front squats went alright. Could feel the holds in my lower back more so than the actual squats, but I’m not surprised. Oh, and I found another way to cheat: if I press the DBs against each other under my chin, that takes some tension off my anterior delts. But, hey, I didn’t balance them on my shoulders this time! Anyway, I’ll have to consciously NOT do that, too.

Tried a slightly different strategy this time: DBs at my sides during the rest intervals of rounds 3 and 6, held in rack during all other work and rest intervals. Didn’t really help much—I was still shaking like crazy by the end!

Decent sled push, too: it almost felt good on my lower back. Better time than Monday, so I’m pretty happy with that.

Weather is beautiful today, so we should be able to shoot some hoops in the driveway after school. That’ll keep me moving, which will help, but I’m already not looking forward to rolling out of bed in the morning!

8 Likes
1754

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d6

Friday - 25 March 2022
Workout: Bench + FS tabata, 0745-0850 + 1030-1035 (65 + 5 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0804; End: 0846; Duration: 42 minutes
Bench - 125x5, 150x5, 180x5 | 205x5, 230x5, 260x5 | (205x10)x5
OA row - L/R - 55 - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Ab wheel - ramp (16) - 15, 20, 15
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x25 lbs - 15, 10

Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10

Holy cow—I love me some pump!

So, back is still VERY tight, but once I got going, it didn’t bother me too much. Jumps were tentative—didn’t want the landings to be too jarring—and it’s still the simple moves (like going from sitting to standing) where I feel it most. It’ll just take some time to loosen up again.

Main work in 7 minutes with 2-minute breaks between. The last two reps of 260 moved a little slowly, but I’m not unhappy with how things felt overall. Supplemental done in 18 minutes, with about 2.5 minutes of rest between, except before the last set—I took about 4 minutes there, just because. Reps 8-10 were slow on basically all of the supplemental sets, but again, I’m not concerned. Rows felt strong today, which is good: I thought bracing might be an issue, but it wasn’t.

Took it easy on the ab wheel—again, I was concerned about bracing—but knocked 'em out in three sets.

Usual stuff to follow this afternoon.

Edit: First front squat tabata done: 10s with 12 in the last round. Might have been able to get 13 today, but I didn’t push it anymore than I already am. Lower back is holding steady. Interesting thing I’ve noted the past several days: I break a sweat during the actual 4 minutes of work—huffing and puffing too hard not to, haha!—but it’s about 4-5 minutes AFTER the work when the sweat really begins to pour. Hopefully that’s indicative of a worthwhile 4 minutes’ worth of work!

12 Likes
1755

It definitely has effects that reach beyond the point of that initial time invested. Probably one of the biggest “cost-to-benefit” ratios out there.

1 Like
1756

Bench is getting pretty damn impressive there, nice work!

1 Like
1757

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d6

Friday - 25 March 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1520-1600 (40 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 13, 10+3
Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10

Sled push - 10x50 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
Time: 10:29

Been there, done that. More a mental battle than a physical one. (Hah! Don’t get me wrong—it was a physical battle, too.) But done is done, and it all went pretty well. Back feels much better now than it did at this point yesterday. Some solid sleep tonight will help, too.

Oh, and I cheated the rack hold again: had to press DBs together during the 5th work interval. I was absolutely going to lose them if I didn’t. On that note, I held them at my sides during the rest periods of rounds 5 and 7. Not really progressing here, and with all the cheats I’m discovering, you might say I’m actually regressing… Gotta believe it’ll come, though. I just have to be patient!

8 Likes
1758

Seriously getting a strong bench mate. Quality

1 Like
1759

Every time he completes a rep of bench, a Dire wolf howls in the distance.

1 Like
1760

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d7

Saturday - 26 March 2022
Workout: Calves & easy conditioning + FS tabata, 0445-0600 + 0850-0855 (75 + 5 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 13, 11+3
Seated CR - 240 - 25, 20, 15

1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Tabata DB front squats - 2x30 lbs - 8x20/10

Fasted.

Back continues to improve, despite a horrible night’s sleep: tossing and turning from about 0215 until I finally got up at 0300. The weighted vest felt worse than I’d like to admit, but it was really the burpees that caused the most trouble: I could really feel it with legs out and then in again. Probably just what I needed, however. And yes, I was annoyed to get only 11 reps in the last set of pull-ups—I kinda just gave up mentally after that last one—so I did an extra one after a 15-second reset.

Full transparency: I ate three pieces of pizza, a bite-sized pretzel bun, and two cookies at my son’s basketball banquet last night, and that was after a full (even if early) dinner of half a rotisserie chicken (no skin), two sausages, veggies, and nearly a half-gallon of milk. The old me started to get mad at myself, but you know what? Screw that! I was commiserating with my son who was licking his wounds after a tough playoff loss to a team we beat twice during the regular season. He had a great showing—scored a bucket and had a few really great defensive plays—but the team was just a little off last night. Anyway, it was a bonding moment and worth every bite of the junk food I put down.

Today’s activities mean I need to wrap up with everything by noon at the latest, so I tried to get this one out of the way early. Will hit up the first front squat tabata before too long, and then the jump rope, second round of front squats, and BB curls later in the morning. But first: breakfast!

Edit: First front squat tabata done. Bumped up to 2x30 lbs DBs, held at side during rest intervals. 8s across, but the difference is real. Also gives me room to grow. Seriously toying with the idea of introducing a 3rd daily tabata next week: first at 2x30 lbs, second at 2x25 lbs, and third at 2x20 lbs, or something like that. Timing is always an issue, but I mean, it’s only 4 minutes, right? And the transformation I’m feeling is CRAZY real. Might ease into these heavier DBs for a week and then introduce a 3rd—undecided, as yet.

9 Likes
1761

BBB Beefcake - c10w3d7

Saturday - 26 March 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1100-1130 (30 minutes)

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10
Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10
Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

BB curls - 112

Okay, finished up in good time. Sticking with 2x25 lbs DBs for the second tabata, given that I’m still struggling to hold the rack. Did alright today—no cheating—but held the DBs at my sides during rest intervals of rounds 5 and 7.

Curls were brutal today: can’t quite straighten my fingers yet, forearms and biceps are pumped. But they went much better today than last Saturday, so I will NOT be repeating this set tomorrow, haha. On to 113 reps next Saturday!

8 Likes
1762

BBB Beefcake - c10w3 - summary

Really happy with my lifts this week: I felt strong overall, and the intensity (particularly with the BBB FSL sets) was just right—not easy, but I wasn’t in danger of missing any reps, and I’ve still got time to spare on the supplemental work. And that’s good, because the weights go up in Cycle 11, which begins today.

Excepting the off-menu cheat meal at my son’s basketball banquet the other night, I hit all of my other goals, too, so I’m just gonna keep the ball rolling!

Now that I’m through the first full cycle of BBB Beefcake, I just have to say I’m really liking it: it doesn’t look like much on paper, but, oh man!, I know I’ve worked hard by the end of each day. I hate the work, but I love the feeling when it’s done! And I love the results I’m seeing, too.

So the second half (Cycle 11) begins today. My goals for this week are:

  • Complete all 4 lifting workouts
  • Complete 4 days of hard conditioning
  • Complete 3 days of easy conditioning and direct calf work
  • Do 52 chin-ups/pull-ups every day
  • Do two tabata front squat workouts every day
  • Continue to eat well

The front squat tabatas continue to work their magic: I’ve improved (slowly), I’ve found new ways to challenge myself in 4-minute bursts, my appetite is up AND I’m feeling leaner. I probably could’ve ridden the single daily tabata results wave for a bit longer before “stalling,” but I’m not disappointed that I added a second tabata this past week.

Given that, and after some more thought about adding a third this week, I’m actually going to stick with two for the foreseeable future: I definitely haven’t ridden the twice-daily results wave to ground yet, so there’s no real need to up the dosage right now. I’ll save that for later, if it even becomes necessary.

Cycling up my TMs, so they are now:

Press - 155 lbs
Squat - 315 lbs
Dead - 355 lbs
Bench - 275 lbs

The astute reader will notice I’ve arrived at the point where 5/3/1 says I should be able to hit a 3-plate squat for 5 reps, but I’m just following the programming and so will have to trust that for now: the next programmed opportunity to hit 100% TM will come with the 7WP, Deload after this cycle and ahead of the anchor, and if all goes well I will have actually bumped up the squat TM to 325 by that point. I’m super pumped to be here, and pretty sure I can do it, but I’m going to be patient and just follow the programming.

Beyond that, the top set loads and the FSL sets for this cycle scare me just enough to know that I’ll have to bring my ‘A’ game, but we wouldn’t really want it any other way, would we?

Time to crush it!

11 Likes
1763

BBB Beefcake - c11w1d1

Sunday - 27 March 2022
Workout: Calves & easy conditioning + FS tabata, 0520-0635 + 0850-0855 (75 + 5 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 13, 12+3
BB CR - 135 - 25, 20, 15

1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Tabata DB front squats - 2x30 lbs - 8x20/10

Fasted.

Wanted to get back to standing calf raises this cycle, so today I reminded myself why I don’t do the BB variation: my lack of balance and stability don’t allow for peak contraction and I can’t use a 3251 tempo, even with such a light load. Granted, I do all these calf raise variations in bare feet with just my toes on the edge of two stacked 2x4s, but even so—I’m just not a balance champion. I’m going to try a belted variation next week so I can use my hands to stabilize myself, and if that still doesn’t feel right, I’ll go back to the single-leg standing variation. I know I get good MMC with those, I just don’t like them because they take twice as long, and time is always an issue…

Beyond that, not much to say about this morning—all pretty standard. Beginning to think the pull-up issue is mental; maybe I need to hit 56+ every day so that I’ll have to do 14+ of each grip. Could that be enough to break through the 11-12 rep barrier I keep hitting?

I’ve got a bit more flexibility this afternoon, but I may try to finish up on the early side (like yesterday). We’ll just have to see how things go.

Edit: First front squat tabata done—still fasted. It’s only 5 lbs per hand, but, wow!, what a difference. Yoke and grip challenged throughout with 8s across.

9 Likes
1764

BBB Beefcake - c11w1d1

Sunday - 27 March 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1155-1215 (20 minutes)

Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10
Tabata DB front squats - 2x25 lbs - 8x20/10
Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10

Not quite as early today, but still done with most of my afternoon left. Holds were just killer today: lost the rack in 4th work interval, took about 2 seconds to reset, tried to hold it during the 5th rest interval, made it about half-way through and lost it again. I then made it until 7th rest before dropping them to my sides again, then up through the remainder. Ugh!

Might have to push to 9s across or something, because the holds aren’t progressing and actually squatting for 8s is pretty easy now. Or maybe drop to 2x20 lbs and really push the holds? I don’t know… Probably overthinking it—could just be that patience is important here, too.

6 Likes
1765

BBB Beefcake - c11w1d2

Monday - 28 March 2022
Workout: Squat + FS tabata, 0825-0930 + 1245-1250 (65 + 5 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0838; End: 0927; Duration: 49 minutes
Squat - 130x5, 160x5, 190x5 | 225x5, 255x5, 285x5 | (225x10)x5
Dip - 45 - 15, 15, 10, 10
Pull-up/chin-up - BW - 14, 14, 8/(7+1), 3/3

Tabata DB front squats - 2x30 lbs - 8x20/10

Fasted.

Decent morning. Main work in 7 minutes with 2-minute rest periods. 285 felt harder than 290 last week, but I didn’t screw up my lower back—it’s no longer tender, just stiff—so that’s a win. It all moved well enough, regardless. Supplemental in 15 minutes, again with 2-minute breaks. Last set felt particularly strong.

Apparently I can do more than 11-12 pull-ups in one set; I just can’t do them following 39 reps of other grips. Happy with 14 in the first set. Switched grips mid-set in 3rd and 4th sets, but missed the 8th chin-up in the 3rd. (Missed? Looking back, I’m not sure I even tried…) Either way, that made me laugh. Still got all 50 reps in 4 sets, so I’ll take it.

All the rest will follow as it usually does. But now I’m going to eat.

Edit: First tabata done: 8s across with 10 in the last round. That’s the new goal for the first of the daily double: figure if I can do that following a pretty heavy squat workout, I can do it anytime.

9 Likes
1766

You might do half set 8s and half 9s. The curious thing is this: the fewer reps you do, the MORE time you spend in the racked position. So doing more reps can help bridge the gap because it will cut down time in the racked position.

1768

Hm; am I doing these wrong?

Once I get the DBs up at the start, I try not to drop them to my sides for as many intervals as possible—whether I’m actively squatting or not.

So if I’m shooting to hold through the 5th work interval, then really I’m aiming for 2:20 with the DBs up, even if I’m just squatting for an easy 8 during the work.

But perhaps I misunderstood…

1769

You’re not doing them wrong, but I consider time moving with the squat different from time spent standing there agonizing under the load of the weight. Similar to how, during a breathing squat, the time spent squatting actually feels like a break compared to the time spent standing there breathing in while under load.

1 Like