Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

Training Training Logs
1850

BBB Beefcake - c11w3d7

Saturday - 16 April 2022
Workout: Calves & easy conditioning, 0750-0905 (75 minutes)

Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - 13, 13, 13, 13+3
Belted 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.

Chins and pull-ups felt strong this morning, even though my upper back is still toasty. And I could feel my pecs this morning—not quite sore, but maybe a little twinge-y, which says something about yesterday’s 5x10 at FSL: I legit haven’t had sore pecs in something like 20 years!

Rest of the typical Saturday work to follow throughout the morning and afternoon.

I’m also starting to get anxious about my attempt at squatting 325x5 on Monday. I’m not fishing for cheerleaders here, I swear, but I am hoping that admitting the nerves will allow me to shift from flight-mode to fight-mode and focus on what @davemccright said recently:

Edit: First tabata done: progressed to 11s across rounds 1-6 (+1 round), 9 in round 7, then surprised myself with 11 in round 8—I just kept squatting! (So that’s +2 rounds total.) Held the rack for the entire 8th work interval, too, but that wasn’t too long 'cause those 11 reps took awhile!

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1851

You’ve got this brother! I’m pretty sure every single lifter knows exactly what you’re going through mentally with that! You’ve earned the right to hit those numbers! It’s no accident. The work you’ve done up to now is your prep. You’re actually well on your way to 4 plates before you know it!

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1852

I will say that I try a different tact. I intend to write this up in full, but I think of the feat as having already been accomplished. The timeline is set and I am simply living it. My “fate” is that I must suffer the inevitable pain and anguish from the feat, but I know the accomplishment is on the other side.

Its how I approach my Deep Water deads. Going into fight mode jacks up my adrenaline and burns me out. This is far more peaceful

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1853

I was going to write something similar.

I come into it knowing that it’s going to be difficult, but deep down I know that it has to be done- so I just do it.

Brain=off, work= done.

You are more than capable Sven, you just have to do it, that’s all.

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1854

And not only that it HAS to be done: it IS done. We are merely experiencing it. Like watching a movie for the first time: the experience is new to us but the end is already set.

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1855

I believe this is the way to go about it too.

Marty Gallagher talks about something similar in “The Purposeful Primitive”. Sit quietly, calm the mind, calm the body, convince it that everything is fine. Visualize the feat clearly.

I did something similar when I squatted 375. I knew I wanted it, so I kept telling myself, “You’re gonna squat this weight. It will happen. You can do it.” Every day, whenever the thought came, I told myself I would. And I did.

You’ve got this.

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1856

@davemccright, @T3hPwnisher, @boilerman, @kdjohn - My dudes! Thank you for all of that.

Come what may—and deep down, I know I’m gonna own it—Monday’s gonna be awesome!

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1857

An observation:

Tabata front squats have become the new burpees on this forum.

A prediction:

They will stick around for the next couple of months, and then another equally appalling idea will replace it.

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1858

Tabata man-makers? Basically a combo of the two.

1859

I think a completely new direction is the way to go. Like low-rep jumping jacks. Or partial-range-of-motion knee bends. Or 10 second plank holds. Something more inclusive that my arthritic aunt could participate in.

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1860

30-10-30 box jumps

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1861

Maybe hour long wall sits lol that’ll really be a mental test. While you’re wall Sitting you could do an upper body circuit; Overhead press, concentration curls, Overhead Tricep Extension, lateral raises, Arnold press, reverse Flyes, modified seal rows. Endless possibilities to take your mind off it

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1863

BBB Beefcake - c11w3d7

Saturday - 16 April 2022
Workout: Conditioning, 1605-1630 (25 minutes)

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

BB curls - 115

Got it all in. Tabata as usual, though it felt better today than it has recently. The unbroken BB curls continue to challenge my forearms more than my biceps, but I’m beginning to think these Poundstone curls are more about fighting pain than they are about growing biceps.

So ends BBB Beefcake. It was simultaneously the best and the worst thing I’ve ever done. More thoughts tomorrow (as time allows).

For now, I eat, I rest, and I eat some more: next week I get to cycle up the weights and crush some new PRs on every lift!

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1864

Pwn has that effect on people. Or he has that effect on me, anyway!

I started these six weeks ago after reading his “Doing Everything Backwards” blog post: I was looking to gain on Beefcake, so why not do some conditioning for fat loss?

And you know what? They’ve absolutely driven my appetite through the roof. I started with a single daily tabata, either after my main lifting workouts or after my easy conditioning, and I quickly noticed how ridiculously hungry I would be after just 4 minutes of work. So I moved that one to just before lunch, and then added a second one in the afternoon, just before dinner, after two weeks of once-daily. And I swear I’ve never eaten more in my life than I have over the past 6 weeks…

I’ve gotta believe doing that during Beefcake has helped me grow.

So yeah, he’s right: Train for fat loss when you’re looking to gain. Do twice-daily front squat tabatas to grow like a beast. Do everything backwards.

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1865

He has the opposite effect on me. I see him doing something, and I’m like “that looks horrible. I hope I never accidentally find myself doing that.” :grin:

But seriously, I did get pulled into adding the Armor Building Complex to my training. I’m sure I’ll give in and do these tabata squats one of these days so I can fit in around here.

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1866

Wow! Is it randomly compliment Pwn time already?
I like @T3hPwnisher because the dude is a living encyclopedia of training philosophy, methods of training, and training history (cause he be reading). He is also raising a family and working while training which almost destroys my anxiety of balancing my life after I graduate in the next two years or so.
@FlatsFarmer is an encyclopedia as well. They both always know some shit lol.

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1867

Ya’ll are going to make me blush.

But I gotta admit: I think you folks are nuts whenever I come up with a bad idea and I see it catch on, because I don’t even wanna do it, haha. But then I’m so happy to be among a community of absolute and total psychos. Iron sharpers iron, and amongst berserkers that iron is in the battleaxe of the lone Viking at Stamford Bridge

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1868

BBB Beefcake - c11w3 - summary

First, 1s week: it was tough! Super happy with the squats, deadlifts and bench were fine, but that press! Man, that one was tough. I know my press is weaker than the rest of my lifts—I tire out more quickly with that than with the others—and I’m sure 5x10 squats at FSL the day before left me more fatigued that I realized, but… Wow! I got all the reps in (eventually), but I had to rest-pause most of the sets. Still a pretty good week overall.

BBB Beefcake itself was awesome. As I said yesterday, it was simultaneously the best and the worst thing I’ve ever done in the weight room. There’s no doubt I’ve gotten bigger and stronger, but it took its toll—mentally and physically. It looked so simple on paper—lots of volume and minimal assistance—but 5x10 is no joke, particularly in Weeks 3 and 6 when you’re hitting that with 1s week weights.

On top of the prescribed lifts, I was able to keep up with my conditioning and daily work as well. I managed 4 days of hard conditioning each week, which is good, and it definitely contributed to the overall fatigue I felt by the end. The extra work was super hard most days, and it didn’t really get better—but that was absolutely about just getting the work in. I continued with daily chin-ups and pull-ups, and the addition of front squat tabatas was awesome, too: they drove my appetite sky-high and I’m pretty sure they helped me avoid putting on too much fat.

So that’s my first go at Beefcake. I’ll definitely be running that one again and again, because it was super-effective.

I’m now moving into a 7th Week Protocol, Deload before running an anchor cycle. My goals for this week are:

  • Complete all 4 lifting workouts
  • Complete 3 days of easy conditioning
  • Do 50 burpees + swings every day
  • Continue to eat right

As usual, I’m planning to run the TM test protocol even though it’s a deload: I’ll be attempting to work up to 5 reps on the top set of each lift to see where my TMs should be as I head into the anchor.

Speaking of that, I’m still planning to run Pervertor, Anchor from Forever with @davemccright and @heretolog after this deload, so that’s something to look forward to.

Okay, that’s that. Let’s set some PRs!

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1869

7WP, Deload - d1

Sunday - 17 April 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0555-0645 (50 minutes)

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

Fasted.

That’s it for today, and I’m very glad about that. I just need to keep eating, and Easter celebrations will help: lots of good calories available today. (And maybe some not-so-good ones, too, though we don’t really go crazy with Easter candy.)

Christ is risen! Happy Easter!

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1870

7WP, Deload - d2

Monday - 18 April 2022
Workout: Squat + daily work, 0820-0925 + 1145-1155 (65 + 10 minutes)

Warm-up
Throws + jumps

Begin: 0840; End: 0923; Duration: 43 minutes
Squat - 130x5, 165x5, 195x5 | 230x5, 260x5, 295x5, 325x5 (rep PR)
HLR - 18, 18, 14
Pull-up - BW - 13, 12
Dip - 75 - 15, 10
Push-up - 25
BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low

50 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between

Assistance totals:
Push - 50 reps
Pull - 55 reps
Single-leg/core - 50 reps

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I did it: I found the calm. I did the work. I set the PR. I exceeded the goal.

Here’s the video:

It wasn’t easy, but I’m not sure why I was anxious. It wasn’t pretty either, but the reps went up. I might have even had one or two more in me, but you can see when I realize the 5th rep is next, because I take a second to let that realization hit me and then have to fight it up. If I had just kept cranking, who knows how many I might have had, haha!

Alternated between core/pull/push assistance during squat warm-ups and then after the main work. I forgot to check my watch so I’m not sure how long that work took, but rest periods between sets went 3, 3, and about 5-6 minutes, so maybe 15-18 minutes total? Surely less than 20 minutes for all four sets. But whatever, that’s not super important: I did the work!

Just now realized I still owe the daily burpees + swings—I straight up forgot because I was so elated to be done with the workout—so I’ll do those before lunch and edit them in once they’re complete.

Edit: Got the daily burpees + swings in. Obviously different than tabata front squats, but they have a similar effect: I’m starving!

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