boatguy, just a short note to say that I’ve been following your log with interest from the start. Really cool to see how you “boat guys” do it (assuming how you do it is the norm). Also nice to see how you manage recovery (HRV etc) - becoming more and more important as I get deeper into my 30s. Rob
EDIT: BTW from what you wrote on a previous post, what’s the diff betwen SpecWar and SWCC and how is the latter easier?
justrob - How I do it is not necessarily the norm. The different teams typically run some type of a special PT for the operators, which I have done in the past - off and on. I have always enjoyed PT, so I never liked group PT. Sounds dumb, but even though I was going to PT anyway, I always felt ‘forced’ if I had to do the group thing - mainly because I couldn’t do what I wanted to do instead of whatever they were doing.
The boat teams actually have very good athletic-type workouts designed for the rigors of boat work, and like I said, I have done them in the past and liked them. But I enjoy getting stronger (and bigger at times), and the operator PTs were a different flavor of athletic performance, with less focus on strength building.
SpecWar is a bastardized nickname for Naval Special Warfare, or NSW. SEALs and SWCC are the two branches of NSW. Everyone knows what Navy SEALs are and do, SWCCs are boat operators, specific to NSW and special ops. --If you have seen Act of Valor, all the boat scenes are us-- I won’t argue and say one is better than the other (although a lot of guys do that), they are two completely different jobs. To answer your question though, SWCC training was only 10 weeks long when I went through it back in 03. Now it is a total of about 9 months. SEAL training is 6 months of BUDS (basic level training), followed by 6 months of SEAL Qualification Training (SQT). Both, of course, entail additional training once you reach a team, prior to deploying.
I have some catch ups to post, I will get on those momentarily, even though I haven’t done much in the last week or so.
29 October 2012
HRV - 79, Green
Didn’t get anything done this day, we were stuck inside all day from ‘Hurricane’ Sandy. I know NYC is getting pounded, but for us it was a day or two of media panic-mongering, followed by a day or two of mostly drizzly rain.
30 October 2012
Tuesday - Conditioning
HRV - 81, Green
Hurricane Sprints - 30 seconds each -
3 x 10mph @ 0 - 5 - 10 inc ( :30 rest each)
3 x 11mph @ 0 - 5 - 10 inc ( :45 rest each)
2 x 12mph @ 0 inc ( :60 rest each)
I liked these, in a sucky kind of way. Rooney prescribes these in threes at each level. I only did 2 at 12 mph because I was sucking wind like crazy, and my lungs had that really nice dry-cleaned feeling. Next time I think I’ll use a longer rest period from the start, and then work it back down over several sessions.
I recently read a little on Crossfit Endurance, and I like his ideas. It kind of reminds me of when I used to do Litvinovs in the weeks prior to the semi-annual physical test, in order to decrease my 1.5 mile time. So, I am shifting more toward a CFE type of running, where multiple repeats of long sprints (200 - 800m) replace mileage on the road or track, with the exception of occasional 5K or 10K runs. I am going to stay with the 531 though, instead of totally switching over to CrossFit workouts. As long as recovery holds up, I am going to try adding more conditioning work in, including afternoon circuits after morning lifting sessions.
Also, I am now about 5 weeks out from Tough Mudder. Last week was interrupted by a week-long local training course, and this week will be interrupted by my flying to Nevada again for two weeks. I read the article here on variable split training the other day, and I also read Nate Green’s Big Small Big ebook online. I am in the process of planning a nut-buster of a mass cycle for December, building off of Hatfield’s template, and possibly combining it with a Smolov base cycle run. After the Mudder, I can put in a solid 5 weeks of this type program, and then I am back in Nevada again, at which point I would switch back to 531, hopefully with bigger numbers to train off of. The first time I did Smolov, I was deployed and had nothing to do but eat lift and sleep. Which I did, and combined Smolov with a wave-loading 1-6 protocol for bench, normal heavy lifting for everything else, as well as a cardio maintenance plan. Result: first time squatting over 400 to depth, bench went up to 325 (then I tweaked my shoulder forcing a rep I should have let fail), and I put on about 10 pounds solid. Probably won’t get all that again, but figure I’ll see what happens.
I already have the training template put together, might tweak and peak a little between now and then, most likely in the realm of conditioning. Mainly planning and hoarding the nutrition side of it. I want to get bigger, but not fatter. If you read the beginning of this log, I got up to 20% BF in the past, without even trying. Definitely don’t want to do that again.
Just a little note:
Traveled out west again on Thursday, spent the night in Reno then headed into Fallon this morning. Between flying all day yesterday, and working today, didn’t train at all. Got nothing to do tomorrow, so I’ll probably hit the gym in the morning before heading out to shop and get my shit together for the next two weeks out here.
03 November 2012 (seriously? it’s November already?)
Saturday - Back (Horizontal)
HRV - 81, Green
Meadows Row - 75 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4, 125 x 2, 2, 150 x 1, 1;
Motorcycle Row - 160 x 10, 170 x 8, 180 x 8, 190 x 8, 200 x 8;
Kroc Row - 80 x 20, 20;
Decided to try the Sipes double pyramid on Meadows Rows today. Kind of like it, but I should have started at a higher weight I think. Got a decent pump, between that and the motorcycle rows. Kroc rows felt good too. Finished under an hour, and after looking at my log almost felt like I was skipping out on something. Should have done some rear delt/scap work, and/or some external rotations. Still no benching, because even after 2 weeks of no benching, followed by 2 weeks of no lifting at all, the issue in my right shoulder just won’t go away.
Also, as much as I don’t want to, I may have to forget about the Tough Mudder next month, due to money. Things have been a little tight since we moved back to VA, and the wifey still isn’t working. She’ll be having foot surgery at some point, and (understandably) doesn’t want to start working, then find out they want to schedule her surgery in a couple weeks. Between that, it being the holidays and all, and after paying for the event, still having to pay for gas and food to get down to FL, I’m thinking it just isn’t the right time for it. Was actually looking forward to it, as crazy as that sounds. Oh well. The team my sister is doing it with apparently does them every so often, so maybe I can talk her into doing another one down the road.
04 November 2012
Sunday - Conditioning
HRV - 83, Green
CrossFit Endurance track workout
0.5 - 0.75 mile jog warm up
8 x 200m sprint (2:00 rest interval) (all repeats :33 - :35)
I did this workout around noon, after church. Short jog over to the track, then ran a lap to make sure I got enough of a warm up. 200m sprint (at least for me) feels a little odd. I’m used to sprinting shorter distances, so after you get to a certain point on the repeat, it feels like your form just wants to fall apart. I literally feel like my legs stop working properly, like I am bouncing all over the lane. Probably not as bad as all that, just saying how it feels.
05 November 2012
Monday - Deadlift
HRV - 83, Green
Deadlift - 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 250 x 5*, 265 x 5*, 280 x 10*;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 8, 8;
Back Extension - BW x 10, 45 x 10, 10;
Didn’t do much today, just got some good work done and got out. Schedule really sucks when we’re out here, everything is pretty compressed. Plus, the gym is tiny, and more guys from this troop actually got up and hit the gym this morning than I was expecting. The last couple classes, more than 3-4 was uncommon.
07 November 2012
Wednesday - CFE
HRV - 83, Green
Jog to track (maybe half mile)
Track Work - 2 x 800M (3:00 rest)
1st Iteration - 3:05 2nd Iteration - 3:16
Heart Rate Average - 155 Peak - 180
Yesterday was a long day at work, so I skipped till today instead of getting up before dawn to hit the track.
Obviously ran these at a slower pace than the 200s on Sunday. Since I really don’t know how to judge myself on these (never run a program like this before), I was shooting for a 3:00 800M time, and came darn close. The cool air and altitude still gave me that awesome ‘freeze-dried’ lung feeling, which has stayed with me most of the day.
Tomorrow is another long day, so I am skipping again (begin teaching classes @ 7, then on the range till after dark).
09 November 2012
Friday - Pullup/Military Press
HRV - 82, Green
1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 30 x 7, 50 x 5, 67.5 x 5*, 72.5 x 5*, 77.5 x 5*;
1B. Military Press - Bar x 10, 75 x 8, 95 x 5, 110 x 5*, 115 x 5*, 125 x 5*;
2. NG Pullup - (down ladder) 10-9-V-8-7-6-V-5-4-3-2-1;
3. DB Javelin Press - 50 x 10, 55 x 8, 60 x 6;
4A. Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 8;
4B. Reverse Pec Deck - 50 x 10, 60 x 8, 8;
5. 1 Arm Pulldown - 55 x 8, 65 x 8;
Had an early morning, but got off at a decent time, so I hit it in the afternoon- which I usually don’t like to do. I usually just feel like I have no motivation after work, but today was different. After already taking a couple days off due to the work schedule, I needed to take advantage of any days I get.
Started off good, but I decided pretty quickly that I should have dropped my training weights, after taking a couple weeks without lifting at all. I got through it though, plus my accessory work. Wasn’t sure oging in if I was going to hit the extra stuff, but once I was there I just didn’t want to leave.
The issue on my right shoulder is still there. I have tried lifting around it, and then tried no lifting at all for a couple weeks, and nothing. So now I am going to try ignoring it for a while. I did that years ago with what was either shin splints or stress fractures from a lot of running. Back then, I tried the different things they tell you to do, and nothing seemed to help. As soon as I said F it and just kept running, it went away. So we’ll see what happens.
10 November 2012
Saturday - CFE
HRV - 80, Yellow
CFE 3 Mile Run (treadmill)
Mile 1 Pace- 8:30
Mile 2 Pace- 8:00
Mile 3 Pace- 7:30
(last 3-4:00, 7:00 pace)
Total- 24:15
Heart Rate Average- 157 Peak- 181
Reverse Crunch- 10#MB x 10, 10, 10;
Wanted to run outside, but with the temp hanging around 30, I didn’t feel like hacking my lungs up the rest of the weekend. Run was good, but I should have started off a little faster. Don’t know why I started at an 8:30 pace, I typically run around 7:30 on the road. Brain fart, I guess.
11 November 2012
Sunday - Squat
HRV - 82, Green
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 315 x 2, 365 x 1, 385 x 1, 405 x 1, 275 x 20;
Squat Machine Calf Raise- yoke only x 10, 50 x 10, 75 x 10, yoke only 1 foot x 8;
Leg Extension - 100 x 10, 140 x 8, 180 x 8, 200 x 8;
EDIT-- Forgot to mention this: I weighed myself at the gym, and with shorts, shirt, five fingers and music, weighed 202.8, after starting Anaconda before leaving for the gym. Meaning, I am probably close to being under 200 for the first time in a few years. I have been trying to lean down a little more, and drop some weight period, by going semi-low carb, and also lowering my food portions. My idea for doing this is to start the mass cycle (which will most likely start right after getting home since I am not going to the Mudder anymore) at a lower weight, and hopefully get a bit of a rebound effect as well. --END EDIT
Felt good to get back under the bar today, not having squatted since the beginning of September (not counting the one time I safety bar squatted at the beginning of October). Maxing out after a lay off like that probably isn’t advisable, but I wanted to see where I was. I was happy to get at least 405, since that has been my sort of bench mark for the last few years. I have gotten as high as 495 (September 2009), so I have obviously dropped a bit. Four wheels is still okay by me. I was definitely feeling the form try to break on the last two singles, took a little extra concentration to stay tight.
After the max single, I wanted to throw in a 20-repper for kicks, and was going to do 225. But then the ego kicked in, and I figured 225 would be too easy, so I went to 275. When I started the set I was still feeling a little fatigue from the previous single, but I pushed through. Got to 10 before pausing, then another 6, then did a couple pairs, then two singles to finish 20. Reracked the weight and had to sit down as it all caught up to me. Funny how you don’t seem to breathe real hard during the set (I was puffing a little near the end), then you rack the weight and suddenly it feels like you ran a couple miles.
After that, I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Threw in a few sets of calf raises (you may have noticed I never do these - they have interfered with my running in the past), to get used to doing them again. The variable split mass cycle I am planning includes calves every other day.
Hardly ever do leg extensions either, but decided to throw some of those in as well since I really didn’t feel up to front squats. Those felt good in a different kind of way, I had forgotten how satisfying it can be to squeeze at the top of a rep and feel the VMO contract from origin to insertion.
Speaking of insertions, my lats are the sorest they have been in years. The down ladder a couple days ago did quite the number on them, which was the point. Added a total of 55 reps on top of the weighted ones I did previously.
13 November 2012
Tuesday - Bench/Row
HRV - 81, Green
Bench - bar x 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 7, 205 x 5, 225 x 4, 245 x 3, 265 x 2, 275 x 1, 285 x 1, 295 x 1, 225 x 8, 6;
Seated Cable Row - 130 x 8, 8, 160 x 4, 4, 190 x 2, 2, 205 x 1, 1;
1A. Incline DB Bench - 45 x 10, 50 x 10, 55 x 10;
1B. Kroc Row - 80 x 20, 20;
2A. Pec Deck - 80 x 10, 90 x 10, 100 x 8;
2Ba. Machine Scap Rectraction - 90 x 12, 110 x 12; 2Bb. Heavy T - 20 x 10, 15 x 12;
First time benching in a couple months. Lost a little strength, but was expecting that. Felt decent, but as it got heavier I felt like I was having trouble staying in my groove. Shouldn’t take much to get back where I was. Usually doesn’t.
Scap Retractions were done on a rowing machine. Basically, keeping arms straight, allow shoulders to round forward, then pull back so shoulder blades (scaps) move down and back. Hold for a second, then repeat. I did two sets, but I felt like the machine wasn’t letting me get a good squeeze, so I switched to Heavy T’s. That’s what I call them anyway. Face down on an incline bench set at a low angle, DBs in hands, arms straight with palms up and thumbs pointing behind you. Raise out to the sides until your arms form a T with your body, hold for a beat, then lower and repeat. Going off the advice of my old ATC, the little muscles around your scapula are postural muscles, so they respond best to higher reps. I didn’t get real high on this one since I started too heavy. When I have done these in the past, I shoot for 12-15 reps.
I posted this a couple days late, been busy at work. Chest is rather sore, but again, that’s to be expected after a 4-6 week layoff from benching.
Got back home last night. Our training schedule in Fallon precluded any more gym visits from Tuesday till today.
Got a green measure on HRV this morning, and weighed in at 199 even. I haven’t been that low in a while, and it is a perfect spot to start my clean bulk from. I’ll probably end up no higher than I was before I dropped weight, but I should be a bit more muscular. To test this, I had my wife do a bunch of measurements, and took front and back ‘before’ pics.
19 November 2012
Weight- 199
Neck- 16.5
Shoulders- 49.25 (circumference)
Chest- 40.5
Waist- 34.25
Hips- 36
Upper Thigh- 25 3/8
Mid Thigh- 24.25
Lower Thigh- 18 5/8
Calf- 15 1/8
Upper Arm, relaxed- 14.75
Upper Arm, flexed- 16
Forearm- 12 1/8
Bodyfat pinches(average of three each)
Suprailiac- 5
Umbilical- 10
I carry most of my fat in my waist/stomach, so I only pinched there as a tracker. I might have my wife pinch subscap as well, since I know I carry a little there as well.
And so begins my 6-7 week clean bulk…
I will be using a variable split, based off of Hatfield’s template. Major lifts (bench, military press, and pullup) will be loaded using a modified 531 protocol(every time I perform that lift, as opposed to changing my weeks). I am also planning to use the 8 weeks to bull Traps routine from abcbodybuilding.com, and the Smolov intro cycle to get my squat back up. The increased squat frequency should stimulate some good growth as well. Quad work will get put in where it fits, without totally killing myself. Speaking of which, this should be a good test of the Bioforce HRV system. I’ve been using it for 6-7 months, but I have still been lifting as I see fit, only following its ‘advice’ when it doesn’t totally interfere with my plans. With this program, I have no preplanned off days, I will be lifting 7 days a week with varying times between the same bodypart. On days that I have a green, I will hit it hard. Yellow days, I will try to back off a little while still getting some quality work done. If I get a red, then I will take the day completely off, and push everything on the calendar to the right. I think I said before, this should be interesting…
I will point out this is all natural, and will be using whatever recovery protocols I deem fit at the time - hot tub, epsom baths, ice baths, etc. I am also considering using Thibs’ ice pack on the stomach deal on certain lifting days as well.
19 November 2012
Week 1
Monday - Chest/Back(531 protocol for bench)
HRV - 85, Green
1A. DB Row - 70 x 8, 80 x 8, 90 x 8, 100 x 8, 8;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 185 x 6, 210 x 5*, 225 x 5*, 240 x 5*;
2A. Motorcycle Row - 150 x 8, 8, 160 x 8;
2B. Incline Fly-Press - 40 x 8, 8, 8;
Kroc Row - 80 x 20, 20;
3A. Cobra - 45 x 8, 55 x 8, 60 x 7;
3B. Cable Cross(slight incline) - 45 x 8, 55 x 8, 65 x 6;
Modified Hurricane Sprint - (:20work/:40rest)
1- 10MPH @ 0 inc - 5 inc - 10 inc (2:00 rest)
2- 11MPH @ 0 inc - 5 inc - 10 inc (2:00 rest)
3- 12MPH @ 0 inc - 5 inc - 10 inc
Single Leg Calf Raise - bodyweight x 10, 10, 10;
I always hate my first day back from Fallon. I sleep like crap the first night due to time difference, and the next day in the gym just seems to drag. I felt like I could barely move the bar, even at the lighter weights. Next time I will do extra warm up sets when I bench.
EDIT-- I started today’s benching based off a training max of 280, and barely got the reps. For the rest of this 531 cycle, I am dropping my training max to 270. I should have done that before, since I haven’t benched in a while. --END EDIT
Motorcycle rows might have been a waste, since I lifted at the Y and their cable stack only goes up to 150. I hung a 10# plate on the pin for my last set, and it still didn’t feel like I was doing much. I’m going to get back to Brute Strength, cause I forgot how much I hate lifting at the Y. Just too ‘fitness-y’ for my taste. The atmosphere sucks for serious lifting. My membership at BSG had expired, and I didn’t pay the fee again because I was only home 2 weeks between my last two trips.
I finished with my version of the Hurricane Sprints that Martin Rooney proscribes. Which brings up another reason I hate the Y - their treadmills suck. I left the mill running continuous throughout the series, just hopping on and off and adjusting speed and incline as needed. I went through the workout, and had just finished the first sprint at 12 and hopped off, and started raising the incline to 5 when the belt started slowing down. I stood there for a second watching it, and it was shutting itself off. So, to keep from screwing my interval too much, I jumped on the next one over, and got it started at 12MPH and 5 incline, did one sprint, hopped off, and THAT one started shutting down. So I hopped over to the next one, got it up to speed at incline 10, and was able to get my final sprint done.
20 November 2012
Tuesday - Shoulders/Arms
HRV - 79, Green
Military Press - bar x 10, 65 x 6, 85 x 6, 100 x 5*, 110 x 5*, 115 x 6*;
1-Arm DB Press - 45 x 8, 8, 8;
Lateral Raise - 20 x 10, 10, 10;
1A. Dip - 45 x 8, 70 x 6, 90 x 6, 6;
1B. Incline Curl - 40 x 8, 8, 8;
2A. Decline DB Extension - 40 x 8, 8;
2B. Screw Curl - 40 x 8, 8, 8;
3A. Kickback - 20 x 10, 10, 10;
3B. Reverse EZ Bar Curl - 60 x 8, 70 x 8, 8;
Today was pretty decent. Slept a lot better, even though my HRV went down a bit. I put a warm pack on my shoulder for a while to try and loosen it up a bit. Worked okay, but it worked even better when I just started ignoring the little discomfort. Almost went away when I did that.
Haven’t done a specific arms routine in quite a while, like literally years. Felt pretty good, a nice change from my norm.Weight was pretty good on dips, should be able to bump that up in the future.
21 November 2012
Wednesday - Legs/Traps
HRV - 76, Yellow
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 6, 8;
1A. GHR - 6, 8, 8;
1B. Seated Calf Raise - 45 x 10, 90 x 10, 10;
1A. Seated DB Shrug - 50 x 15, 15, 15;
1B. Cable Static Shrug - 204 x 30sec, 30sec, 30sec;
2. Squat Machine Shrug - 90 x 20-5, 135 x 20-5, 180 x 15-5;
3A. Behind-the-Back Shrug - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4;
3B. 4-Way Neck Machine - 25 x 20, 35 x 20, 20;
Today was interesting. I felt a bit worn out after legs, but on paper (or computer screen) it doesn’t look like I did much for legs. I could have done another move or two for legs, but I planned to do the first Traps workout from the 8-week thing, and I knew I would have to go in to work in the afternoon (had to unload some stuff we had shipped from Fallon).
I mentioned yesterday how I hadn’t done a dedicated arm workout in quite some time. Well, I have literally never done a dedicated trap workout, beyond a few shrugs or cleans here and there. I’m interested to see what progress I gain on my traps. Also haven’t done any calf work in a long time. After doing squats and front squats, and then alternating sets of GHRs with calf raises, I was walking a little funny around the gym.
And speaking of the gym, today saw me back in Brute Strength. I had paid for a three month membership a while back, but it expired right before the trip before last. Since I was only home for two weeks between the last two trips, I didn’t bother re-upping there. Now, I am back. And happy. It’s amazing how a proper gym can totally change your mood. Today felt so much better than the last two days at the Y. Besides, the closest thing the Y has to a squat rack is one of those moveable Smith machines (don’t know what else to call it). The bar is fixed like a smith, but the uprights are on horizontal runners top and bottom so it moves up and down as well as front to back. It is still stabilized sideways though, which is not very conducive to a proper squat workout. I did it earlier this summer, and really didn’t like it. A little unnerving to watch the whole cage flex sideways when you unrack and walk it out to get set.
Also, you may notice my HRV score going slowly south. Wonder how quickly I’ll get a red?
22 November 2012
Thursday - Back(Vertical)
HRV - 73, Red
Weighted Pullup - BW x 10, 8, 35 x 6, 60 x 5*, 65 x 5*, 67.5 x 7*;
Pullup (Narrow Neutral Grip) - 8, 8, 8;
Wrist Roller - 5 x 1(up each way), 10 x 1, 1;
Wrist Hammer(clubbell) - 5 x 10, 12;
Cressey Reverse Crunch - 10#med ball x 10, 10, 10;
Got a red measure this morning (was kind of expecting it). I had said I was going to take red days off, but I know I am going to have to take Saturday off, so I am going to push through until then. Took a dose of Power Drive before heading to the gym for a little boost, think it helped a little. Skipped cardio and cut the back work short due to the red. Just hit the main lift (weighted pullups), followed with some bodyweight pullups to get a little volume in, then went to forearms and abs(actually remembered to do that today). Hoping the extra food today will help with recovery as well. Also, started taking tribulus today.
Speaking of which, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone reading this. Here’s hoping you all are getting together with friends and/or family to celebrate what we have to be thankful for, in spite of recent events (don’t worry, I won’t get political on you). Also, sending out thoughts and prayers to those who were affected by Sandy, and are still trying to get back to normal.
First off, I’d like to thank you for your service (future Army officer, here). Second, I just read through your log and I’m impressed. I have a question though: have you found it difficult to manage staying in military shape and lifting at the same time?
CS
eagle- Currently no, but in the past yes. At various times in my NSW career, I have been forced to do the group thing, which I hate(yes, I am repeating myself). Pushups-situps-long ass run does nothing for anyone, especially in my profession. I like that the boat community is getting away from that, and implementing a more athletic-based program, but I have to say I agree with Wendler’s view on the subject: lift heavy weights to be strong, do hops, jumps, and the like to improve athleticism.
Obviously running is needed, but beyond 3-4 miles I don’t see the point. The stupid thing is when our Human Performance manager was trying to change things and questioned the stupid long runs, the answer was ‘But what if we get blown off the boats and have to go on E&E?’ So, we’re basing our entire PT program off a semi-annual test (PRT) that does nothing to measure actual job performance, and the less than 1% chance of going on E&E? Good plan.
If I ever end up on E&E, I’m definitely not going to run 6+ miles with all my gear, unless I know for a fact there is a FOB or pickup spot waiting for me there. Realistically, I will run 1-2 miles to put down some distance between myself and the contact site, and then I go to ground. I more than likely won’t have much food and water, so conserving energy is the name of the game.
Deep Breath.
Sorry, little rant there. Point was, lifting actually helps me prep for my job, as it does most military jobs. When I have been allowed to completely do my own thing in my career (PT-wise), are the times when I have gotten in the best shape. As soon as I have to follow the pack, I start losing my progress. Have you read any of the CrossFit Endurance stuff? He says you can prepare for marathons without pounding the pavement for the ridiculous amount of mileage that is typical.
Carries over to military as well, obviously. I had started to follow that, but then I changed to my current program and cardio has taken a back seat, so to speak. I fully intend to jump into that once I finish this 6-8 weeks and go back to my normal 531.
23 November 2012
Friday - Chest/Shoulders
HRV - 81, Green
Bench - bar x 10, 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 6, 205 x 5, 215 x 3*, 230 x 3*, 245 x 6*, 185 x 10, 135 x 10;
Military Press - bar x 10, 65 x 8, 8, 85 x 6, 110 x 3*, 115 x 3*, 120 x 4*;
Incline Fly-Press - 40 x 8, 8, 8;
Pec Deck - 100 x 10, 10, 10;
Seated Overhead Press - 40 x 8, 8, 35 x 10;
Lateral Raise - 20 x 10, 10, 10;
Hurricane Sprint - (20W/40R) - same as Monday
Heart Rate Average - 158 Peak - 179
Standing Calf Raise - 90 x 10, 10, 10;
I somehow woke up this morning with a Green HRV measure, so I hit it harder this morning than I thought I’d be able to. I will say though, doing chest and shoulders on the same day sucks. Once I am back to work next week, when this comes up again, I will break it into morning and afternoon sessions.
Bench felt good, so I did two drop sets after the top work set. That probably affected military press, since I was only able to get one rep over minimum. The rest of the workout went decent, I almost felt like I blew most of my wad on the first two moves. Which is fine, since I am still focusing on strength during this thing.
Got a set of Hurricanes in. Next week I am going to shift the work:rest ratio to 25:35, as a step toward a 30:30 ratio. Once I get to that point, I’ll start at 5deg incline instead of 0, and top out at 15 instead of 10. These have a twofold purpose: to keep my cardio up, and to keep fat gain to a minimum.