Boatguy's New and Final Log (Ongoing)

Training Training Logs
161

02 February 2013
Saturday - Arms, Cardio
HRV - 82, Green

Treadmill - 3 mile run @ 8MPH - 22:30
Heart Rate Average - 169 Peak - 184
**
A. Elbows Out Pressdown - 47.5 x 10, 10, 10;
B. Screw Curl - 45 x 10, 50 x 8, 55 x 6;
Kickback - 25 x 10, 10, 10;
Situp - 40; Hanging Leg Raise - 10, 10, 10;

Slow day today, just filling in some spaces basically. Changed up my running a little, wanted to check out my 3 mile. Yeah, it’s on a treadmill so it’s a little different, but still. Kept a 7:30 pace with no problems, even though my heart rate obviously kept climbing (been that way since I started watching it a couple years ago - curious how it was back in my early 20s when I was running consistent 7:00 pace for multiple miles…). Boring running on a treadmill, but I hate the freeze-dried lung feeling I get when I run outside in the cold. Yeah, I’m a pussy, whatever…

After running, I hit arms a little. Really didn’t do much, just wanted to hit some lateral tricep stuff, and a little bi to go with it.

162

04 February 2013
Monday - Bench, Row, Cardio
HRV - 84, Green

1A. 1 Arm Barbell Row - 50 x 8, 8, 60 x 8, 75 x 6, 85 x 6, 6;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 155 x 10, 185 x 6, 230 x 3*, 245 x 3*, 260 x 6*;
2A. DB Row - 75 x 8, 8, 95 x 4, 4, 4;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 60 x 8, 8, 70 x 4, 4, 4;
Band Pull Apart - 20, 20;
PM
Treadmill - Modified Hurricane - 30W/30R @ 13MPH x 3/+60R - 3 rounds
Heart Rate Average - 158 Peak - 183

Good workout today. Our human performance guys bought a bunch of compression gear, and issued it out to us. Apparently at some point they will gather feedback from us on it. For bench/row today, I wore the sleeveless shirt, along with the compression sleeves (I know, kinda backwards - I wore a tshirt over it so I wouldn’t look completely retarded). Can’t say it helped at all, after all, it’s not a bench shirt. Can’t say it helped with DOMS either, since I rarely get sore unless I take a couple weeks off or something. I did wear the compression pants Saturday when I ran, and my legs didn’t get sore at all (they usually do a little bit at least), so there is that. Also, sometimes when I am benching and get to the top set, I seem to get into this groove where I can just keep pumping out reps, like a piston. Didn’t happen today. Got a good number, but paused a couple times between reps.

Wore the pants again for the sprints, and had longer rest periods than I wanted, due to the previously mentioned shitty treadmills the Y has, but was able to stay pretty close to the prescribed times. Also did 30/30 for the first time at this speed.

163

05 February 2013
Tuesday - Squat
HRV - 83, Green

A. Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 330 x 3*, 350 x 3*, 370 x 6*;
B. Box Jump - 37.5" x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 295 x 2, 195 x 20;
Leg Press - 440 x 8, 8;

Got a good squat session in today, still not using the belt. Waiting for my wife to notice and say something, since I bought a good EFS belt a while back, and have only used it during the Smolov cycle I did before Christmas. I’m 36 and squatting decent weights, so I tend to pride myself a little on the fact that I’m still healthy enough to squat completely raw. Yeah, I know, come talk to you in 10 years…here’s hoping I’ll still be able to say that then.

Did box jumps, didn’t try to push height at all, just wanted to get back into the groove of doing these on a regular basis again. Wore the compression shorts, and actually did a little prehab/warmup stuff prior to squatting - didn’t feel any issues/tightness in the hams like I usually do when I just jump right in. Also, dug out the inversion boots last week, and started using them again after squatting. Figure it can’t hurt, at the very least. Not doing long hangs yet, 30 on 30 off, 3 times, once a week after squatting. Might do them again after deadlifting on friday, haven’t decided yet. Deads don’t seem as compressive as squats, but it still might be worth it. Also going to start yoga at the Y if I can. I am 36, like I said, and have never been consistent about stretching, at least not for long periods of time, and it definitely shows.

164

06 February 2013
Wednesday - Conditioning
HRV - 77, Green

Continuous–
100 Rep KB Circuit - 52lb KB - 3:56
2:00 rest
1 mile treadmill run - 7:50
??? rest
16kg KB x 2 Manmaker - 4:55
Total time - 23:00ish
Heart Rate Average - 161 Peak - 184

Haven’t done this workout in quite some time. Numbers were dismal compared to what they used to be. I used to do the run outside (we had a 1 mile loop right outside the gym at the old unit) wearing a 20# vest, and I did a second mile run after the manmaker circuit. Maybe two years ago. Really need to step up my conditioning.

100 rep KB Circuit - 10 reps each arm (switch arms before switching moves)-
Swing
Clean
Snatch
Rack Position Squat
Push Press

KB Manmaker circuit - 5 reps per move at each layer, 2 KBs
1-Front Squat
Seesaw Press

2-Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press
Pushup

3-Swing
Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press
Pushup

4-Swing
Clean
Front Squat
Seesaw Press
Pushup
Renegade Row

Good workout, and I finally have a soft HR strap so I can measure while doing it. Surprised my heart rate didn’t go higher. Probably would have stroked out if I hadn’t taken so much time between the 100 rep and the run, and then again before the manmaker. Used to do a lot less rest between sections also.

165

07 February 2013
Thursday - Pullup/Mil Press
HRV - 82, Green

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 30 x 8, 50 x 5, 75 x 3*, 80 x 3*, 85 x 5*;
1B. Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 95 x 5, 115* x 3*, 125 x 3*, 135 x 3*;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - 11, 11, 11;
2B. STR Press - 95 x 5, 5, 6;
Lateral Raise - 20 x 8, 25 x 8, 30 x 8;

**115 - I tagged this weight because I loaded the wrong amount on the bar - it was supposed to be 120, but I forgot to put the 2.5s on.

Had an advancement exam today, so I got up a little earlier and trained at work. Pullups felt pretty good, but military press still gives me issues. No pain or anything, just can’t seem to get the weight up. Still getting the prescribed reps though, so I’m on the curve instead of behind or in front of it at least. Kind of cranked through a little accessory stuff before getting out. Had a couple things to do before the test, and didn’t want to run out of time.

166

08 February 2013
Friday - Deadlift
HRV - 85, Green

Deadlift - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 295 x 3*, 315 x 3*, 335 x 6*;
KB Windmill - (1 Arm)25 x 8, (2 Arm) 30/25 x 8, 8, 8;
GHR - 6, 7, 8;

Deadlifts felt good. Lower body has always been my stronger suit, that and pullups. Found a trick to deadlifting with an overhand grip - use a bar with a slight bend in it, then rotate the bar so the bend is pointing slightly back toward you. When you pick it up, the bend will try to settle to the top, resulting in the bar trying to roll into your hands instead of out.

Did windmills again, haven’t done those in a long time. Saw a dude doing them, positioned so his feet were parallel pointing forward. I have always done them staggered, but tried them that way with a light KB. No dice. Just don’t have the mobility/flexibility to do them that way, so I did them staggered again. Really felt it around the scap, which is one reason I always liked doing them. Don’t recall why I stopped - might have been one of the times I tweaked my shoulder. On the two arm ones, Brute only has singles at most of the weights, so the 30/25 means I was holding the 30# in my overhead hand, and 25# in the lower hand.

GHRs were fun today, since I have a goose egg on my right knee cap. Racked the shit out of it on the door jam last night, hasn’t gone away yet. Was able to ignore it enough to get them done though.

167

09 February 2013
Saturday - Anything Can Happen Day
HRV - 78, Green

AM - Yoga - 1 hour class
PM - Run - 3 miles - 24:40
Heart Rate Average - 168 Peak - 182

Been wanting to try out yoga, since I am really not flexible. Interesting. Some stretching moves, but most of the positions seemed to do more muscular endurance type stuff, isometrically. Was able to do most of the moves (for the most part), which was cool since it was my first time. Did get a really good stretch on my piriformis (pigeon positions), which is always an issue.

Waited till the afternoon, then went for a run. Wasn’t a really fast time, a little over 8:00 mile pace. Really windy today.

168

11 February 2013
Monday - Bench/Row, Sprints
HRV - 79, Green

1A. 1 Arm BB Row - 50 x 8, 60 x 8, 75 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 155 x 10, 185 x 7, 215 x 5*, 245 x 3*, 275 x 3*;
2A. DB Row - 80 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 60 x 8, 8, 70 x 4, 4;
PM
Treadmill Incline Sprint - 30W/30R x 3/+60 rest - 2 rounds(1- incline 10/9ish speed; 2- incline 8/9ish speed)
Did not record heart rate

Pretty decent day, only complaint was not getting more reps at 275. 3 isn’t bad, I just recall getting more in the past. Was still able to get into that ‘machine pumping’ rhythm I’ve mentioned in the past, which is always satisfying. Thought about doing a set or two of Kroc Rows at the end, but was beat by the time I got to it.

Took my wife to the Y in the afternoon. I’ve started her on the SL5x5 routine, with some minor tweaks for her. She is using the empty bar for everything but military press. FOr that, she uses the pre-loaded 20# bar (we don’t care for it, since it is curved like an EZ-curl and more difficult for her to get a comfortable grip on). She is squatting and deadlifting in a Smith-ish type machine, where the bar is on vertical runners, which are attached to horizontal runners. I don’t care for it, but it is the closest thing to a squat rack they have, and she’s not exactly training for athletics or anything. On military press day, she is also doing an equal number of sets on the pullup machine.

After running her through that, she hopped on the bike and I did my sprints. Since the treadmills won’t hold 13MPH for me, I decided to start doing incline sprints at a lower speed. Started at incline 10, and I forgot to write down the speed I started at. I adjusted the speed a couple times, ending up around 9 IIRC. I only did 2 rounds, though, because we got there later than I would have liked (mid-afternoon), and I didn’t want the sprints to interfere with squatting the next day.

169

12 February 2013
Tuesday - Squat
HRV - 80, Green

1A. Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 6, 310 x 5*, 350 x 3*, 390 x 4*;
1B. Box Jump - 38" x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 195 x 20;

Used the gym at work today, since it is easier to do box jumps there. Usually. Today, I got there and it was completely packed. Out of a dozen squat racks, I managed to find ONE that wasn’t being used. Drug the boxes I needed over by the rack, so I wouldn’t have to cross the gym in between sets, which meant I was jumping in the approximate space of a large closet. Literally, I would rerack the bar after a set, turn around, and start jumping.

Numbers were good, I was happy with 4 reps at 390, even though I threw on the belt for that last set. I find it funny how sometimes my knees will hurt a little while squatting, but when I switch to front squats - which is obviously much more knee-intensive - it disappears. 20 reps at 195 again, next week I’ll add some weight for that one.

170

13 February 2013
Wednesday - Cardio
HRV - 85, Green

Treadmill Run - 2 miles - varied speed to keep HR right around 160bpm
Total time (w/ cooldown) - 20:00
Heart Rate Average - 153 Peak - 165

Slept in today, since I didn’t have to be at work until 10AM (normal time). Took the wife to the Y again, and then hopped on the treadmill for this workout. Intended to do 3 miles, but steady running on the treadmill is boring as hell so I cut it to 2 miles.

I had seen this type of work (apparently, this is the better way to train when using a HR monitor) before, but always refused to do it because I wanted to keep my run time down. Resting heart rate crept up a little during December’s experiment, so I figured now was as good a time as any to try it out. Watching the monitor while running (or whatever you are doing) enables you to adjust your intensity level and keep it in your target HR zone longer. I’ve done this in the past at my recovery rate, but never anything higher than that.

171

14 February 2013
Thursday - Military Press/Pullup
HRV - 80, Green

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 30 x 8, 50 x 6, 71.25 x 5*, 80 x 3*, 90 x 5*;
1B. Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 95 x 6, 112.5 x 5*, 127.5 x 3*, 142.5 x 2*, 95 x 8;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - BW x 12, 12, 12;
2B. STR Press - 95 x 6, 6, 8;
3A. Cable Pullover - 84 x 8, 10, 96 x 10;
3B. Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 30 x 8, 35 x 8;

Between not having to go into work today, and it being Valentine’s Day (and subsequently going two rounds with the wifey), I didn’t get out of the house till a little later in the morning than I would have liked. After the two rounds, I figured my workout might suffer, so I drank a cup of coffee on the way there. That seemed to make up for any lost energy, as you can see by my numbers. Pullups have always been my strong suit, but I was still happy with 5 reps at 90. I also managed 2 reps at 142.5 on the military press, which has always been my weakest link. Still making progress, but slowly. You can tell I was at Brute today, because of the funky weights I used. Brute has fractional magnetic plates, so I stuck those on the weights rather than round up or down after figuring my weights for the day.

Speaking of which, I played around with Excel, and made a spreadsheet for my 531 workouts. Now, when I adjust my training max each week, I simply plug that in and it automatically gives me the working weights for that cycle. Saves time, and it was actually pretty simple to do.

172

15 February 2013
Friday - Deadlift
HRV - 86, Green

Deadlift - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 280 x 5*, 315 x 3*, 350 x 6*;
Leg Press - 450 x 8, 500 x 8, 550 x 8, 600 x 8;
Cybex Leg Extension - 180 x 10, 200 x 8, 8, 8;

Instead of going to Brute, and then coming home to grab the wife and take her to the Y (we only have one vehicle right now), I just took her to the Y and did my workout there. Place isn’t set up real well, but they have enough floor room to deadlift, and they don’t complain or tell you it’s not allowed. So, two birds, one stone. Hopped on the leg press after that (to stretch my lower back out), and probably got stared at funny for loading it as heavy as I did (weights listed are what I put on it - I have no idea what the sled weighs) and actually doing full ROM. Watched a guy earlier in the week put every plate that would fit on it, and then do 6" presses. Not real impressive, in my opinion.

Leg extensions felt good, good solid contractions felt across the VMO.

173

18 February 2013
Monday - Conditioning/Bench Deload
HRV - 75, Yellow

From The Horseman:
PANAMA RED - BW Bench/Burpee - 10/1, 9/2, 8/3, etc. down to 1/10 (I changed the rep count midstream)

205# Bench/Burpee - 10/1 - 9/2 - 8/3 - 6/5 - 4/7 - 2/9 - Total Reps - 39/27
Time - 11:15
**
C2 Rower - 1KM - 3:47 (No HR)

Like I had said, this week was intended to be a deload/conditioning week. Dug through the Horseman book to find a good workout, decided on Panama Red because it knocks out both. After a few sets, I realized it wouldn’t be much of a deload, doing a total of 55 reps for bench. So after the 3rd set (8/3), each subsequent set went down by 2 reps instead of 1. Lowered the volume a little, but still ended up with a decent case of DOMS.

After that, I hopped on the rower and knocked out 1KM. Intended to rest and do at least one more, but was short on time. (I know, this happens a lot)

174

19 February 2013
Tuesday - Squat Deload/Recovery
HRV - 74, Red

Squat (Deload) 135 x 8, 185 x 5*, 225 x 5*, 265 x 5*;
Recovery Pace - Bike/Walk/Jog - 30:00
Heart Rate Average - 129 Peak - 142

Easy day on squats. Since I was deloading, I didn’t do any accessory work either.

Today’s conditioning was dictated by the Red HRV score I got. Normally sleep pretty decent in Fallon (got here Saturday), but the last couple nights I just couldn’t shut it off. Started out at recovery pace on the bike, but my feet kept cramping - not sure why. So I hopped off and hit the treadmill, varying the incline and speed to keep my heart rate in the 130/140 area. Got 30 minutes in here, and done.

175

20 February 2013
Wednesday - Conditioning
HRV - 79, Green

Treadmill - HR Run - varied speed and incline to stay in targeted zone - low 160s - 25:00
Deleted HR before I was able to get it written down, but peak was around 165

Just conditioning today. Trying something different on these. Normally I run a set distance and try for the lowest time I can. Stuff I have been reading (actually have seen it before, just never implemented it) says the proper way to train is to keep your heart rate in the zone for whatever you are trying to accomplish that day. Did it last week, bumped the total time up to 25:00 this week. Really boring doing it this way, but we’ll see what happens.

176

21 February 2013
Thursday - Pullup/Press Deload / Conditioning
HRV - 80, Green

Fran - 8:39 Heart Rate Average - 148 Peak - 164
Recovery (Treadmill) - 15:00 HR Average - 134 Peak - 142

Today was deload for pullup and military press as well as conditioning, so I did Fran instead. Quite a bit off my best time (think it was sub-7:00), but not too bad. After that, I hopped on the treadmill for another recovery session (short one).

Friday would have been deadlift deload, but I went snowboarding in Squaw Valley instead. Free for military, and board rental on base was only $25. Can’t beat that. One of the guys I work with used to be a snowboard instructor, so he gave me a few free lessons until I felt semi-comfortable, then left me to it. Did Big Blue twice, then went all the way down the mountain. Took about a half hour to get down, but I made it. Couldn’t get comfortable on the heel edge of the board, so I spent the majority of the runs facing back up the hill, usually in a toe edge slide. Did get some straight runs on the way down, but nothing too drastic. Spent a lot of time on my knees (go ahead - I gave you that one), and caught the back edge once right near the bottom, but pretty good day for my first time ever (at the ripe old age of 36). Definitely going to do that shit again.

177

25 February 2013
Monday - Bench/Row
HRV - 83, Green

1A. Seated Cable Row - 160 x 8, 8, 170 x 8, 180 x 8, 190 x 8, 8;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 155 x 10, 185 x 7, 220 x 5*, 235 x 5*, 250 x 7*;
2A. DB Row - 80 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 60 x 8, 8, 70 x 4, 4;
3A. Hanging Leg Raise - 10, 10, 10;
3B. Elbow Out Extension - 30 x 8, 35 x 8, 8;
PM
KB Manmaker/Row - 50# KB

10 KB swing (L/R)
500m Row
10 clean
500m Row
10 snatch
500m Row
10 racked squat
500m Row
10 push press
500m Row
Time - 20:17
Heart Rate Average - 157 Peak - 177

Good morning in the gym, felt good with the weights. Finished up what I wanted to do, then got out, the way it should be. Gym was a little busy, but not too bad.

Came back after work (got off earlier than I thought I would), and hit some conditioning. Changed up the KB manmaker I did before. I think I tried something like this a while back, except running instead. That didn’t work out so hot. This one worked much better. Felt like a good conditioning workout without completely killing myself.

178

26 February 2013
Tuesday - Squat
HRV - 84, Green

Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 8, 275 x 6, 315 x 5*, 335 x 5*, 355 x 9*;
Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 295 x 2, 195 x 20;
A. Reverse Crunch - 10#MB x 10, 10, 10;
B. Heavy Bag Kick (each leg) - 10, 10, 10;

Had a later start to work today, so I slept in, got good and rested, then hit the gym. Squats felt good. Soreness from snowboarding is completely gone now, which is good. My left MCL was sore after Friday, and the top end of the right patellar tendon as well. I took a good soak in epsom salts on Saturday, and basically laid around doing nothing all weekend, so that definitely helped.

Threw in some reverse crunches and bag kicks. haven’t kicked in a while, highest angle was a little lower than it used to be. I used to do these quite a bit when I was training, as part of my ‘stretching’ routine after squatting. On my first deployment, they had a floor standing bag at the base gym. I started doing 50 kicks on each leg after just about every workout. Over 4-6 months, that made a huge difference, though I still never tried kicking in a fight or sparring. Smoother, but still not comfortable enough with it to use for real. It was enough of an improvement that the guys at the gym noticed when I was on the bag or pads.

179

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Got busy during week of 25 Feb - 1 Mar (second week of trip is always hectic), and then went on another trip without going home, during which I had no time to lift - okay, I could have made time, but after class all day and getting caught up on college coursework, I just wanted to sleep. Add to that living in a hotel for the past week, which necessitates eating out every meal, and I cut out the gym for the week to make things a little easier/smoother.

I’ll get caught up on the last couple entries this weekend, then hit it again on Monday.

180

Catching up from end of trip:

28 February 2013
HRV - 80, Green

1A. Pullup - BW x 10, 30 x 8, 50 x 6, 75 x 5*, 80 x 5*, 85 x 5*;
1B. Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 95 x 6, 115 x 5*, 125 x 5*, 130 x 5*;
2A. Neutral Grip Pullup - 10, 10, 10;
2B. Javelin Press - 45 x 8, 50 x 8, 45 x 6 (elbow forward instead of flared out);
3A. Reverse EZ Curl - 70 x 10, 80 x 8, 8;
3B. Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 8;

Decent day, though I am feeling like its time to drop back a level, at least on this day. I’m getting the prescribed reps, but nothing more.

Found out around this day that I would be going to a driving school the following week, with no access to a gym. Because of this, and to avoid rushing around in the morning before work, I chose to skip deadlift day on the 1st. This is followed by a full week of no lifting or training, due to school scheduling.