3/24/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
3/25/25 - Brian Alsruhe’s “45 Master Sessions”: Week 7, Day 4 (Light Squat)
Strength (20 minute time limit to get to top set):
A1) Pin Squats - 133 x 5, 177 x 4, 210/232/254 x 3
A2) Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 6
Volume (10 minute EMOM):
B) Pin Squats - 166 x 5 x 10
Assistance (4 minutes, Tabata style):
C) Bulgarian Split Squats - 20lb vest x 12/10/9/7 (left leg), 10/9/8/8 (right leg)
33:15
- Motivation was low for this one, hence trimming things up a bit. Feeling a bit burnt out on training in general. If I’m being honest with myself, it’s pretty normal for me to get psyched up for a new program for 5-6 weeks and then get bored. Luckily I have a vacation coming up in less than a month.
- Progression from Cycle 1: Strength 199 x 5 > 243 x 4 > 254 x 3, Volume 122 x 5 x 10 > 155 x 5 x 10 > 166 x 5 x 10
8 Likes
3/25/25 - Daily Work/Easy Conditioning
15 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
3/26/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
12 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
3/27/25 - Brian Alsruhe’s “45 Master Sessions”: Week 8, Day 2 (Heavy Press)
Strength (20 minute time limit to get to top set):
A1) Pin Press from nose level - 67 x 5, 89 x 4, 111 x 3, 133 x 2, 146 x 1
A2) V-Up’s - 5 sets of 6
Volume (10 minute EMOM):
B) Pin Press from nose level - 118 x 3 x 10
Assistance (10 minute time limit/4 Tabata style rounds with 30 seconds b/w each round):
C1) Seated DB Press - 29’s x 9/9/8/8
C2) Ring Dips - 7/6/6/4
C3) Lateral Raises - 10’s x 11/9/9/8
C4) Reverse Flys - 5’s x 11/13/13/13
38:10
- Top set and volume work moved well enough. My setup for pin presses is a little MacGyver and that affected my concentric on a few reps, but nothing catastrophic. Assistance was money - I found some shorter tow straps in my shed that I can use to hang the rings much faster than the Rogue straps, so I plan on using them more often. Nice chest pump on top of the shoulder destruction.
- Progression from Cycle 1: Strength 133 x 3 > 144 x 2 > 146 x 1, Volume 107 x 3 x 10 > 115 x 3 x 10 > 118 x 3 x 10
3/27/25 - Daily Work/Easy Conditioning
14 chins/49 pushups/70 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 Likes
3/28/25 - Daily Work/Easy Conditioning
15 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
3/29/25 - Daily Work
15 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
3/30/25 - Daily Work
12 chins/48 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
3/31/25 - Brian Alsruhe’s “45 Master Sessions”: Week 8, Day 1 (Light Deadlift)
Strength (20 minute time limit to get to top set):
A1) 1.5" Deficit Deadlift - 155 x 5, 199 x 4, 243/276/300 x 3
A2) Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 5
Volume (10 minute EMOM):
B) 1.5" Deficit Deadlift - 188 x 5 x 10
Assistance (4 minutes Tabata-style):
C1) KB Swing - 70 x 10/8/8/9
C2) Inverted Rows on ropes - 10/7/6/7
35:23
- Coming into the home stretch here. Got rained out this morning so had to cram this in at lunch. Should have done this particular session last Friday but was feeling lazy and didn’t feel like having deadlift fog when I was headed over to the girlfriend.
- Going to pull an @alex_uk and say I have a few ideas for what I want to do when I get back from vacation, but I’m not going to commit to anything yet. I don’t think it will immediately be another Alsruhe program though; this was a good experience but I need a break from the 10 minute EMOMs and the carries/loads.
- Progression from Cycle 1: Strength 265 x 5 > 287 x 4 > 300 x 3, Volume 166 x 5 x 10 > 177 x 5 x 10 > 188 x 5 x 10
9 Likes
Haha timing - I literally just posted about committing (not that I actually have yet 
).
1 Like
It’s funny you brought up a blog post from Pwn because the concept I am wrestling with right now is something I first heard from him, even though real credit goes to Dan John - bus bench programs vs park bench programs. The bus bench analogy is that you have somewhere you need to be, and a certain time to get there. For me, this would be an Alsruhe program, Mass Made Simple, a hard run of 5/3/1, something like that. The park bench is somewhere you are just hanging out with nowhere really to go. I’m still trying to figure out what that program or programs is for me. I have an idea but don’t wanna jinx it.
8 Likes
3/31/25 - Daily Work
12 chins/48 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
Funky weather day. Rain in the morning meant no workout, then it was sunny during the day which led me to drive home and get that deadlift workout in at lunch, then I could tell it was gonna rain again, so quickly got this done when I got home at night, and sure enough it started to rain immediately after. Will make up for the missed vest walk this weekend.
YTD Daily Work/Easy Conditioning totals as of March
901 Chins
3,593 Pushups
5,259 BW Squats
120 Weight Vest Miles
4/1/25 - Daily Work/Easy Conditioning
12 chins/48 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
I saw @alex_uk put some skin in the game and put pen to paper on some plans, so I figure I will do the same. I get back from spring break in Arizona on April 21st, and I plan on returning to the “Chaos Is The Plan” protocol I was doing when I started this log last year, and pairing it with the Velocity Diet (which I have already started). I’ve read my entire log from the first go round and think I’ve learned not just from my mistakes, but from my successes as well (side note - why is that not talked about more? It’s always “learn from your mistakes”, never “what did you do right?”. I digress…). Anyway, I think this is my best path as a “park bench” program to return to in between harder runs of a Brian Alsruhe program or something similar. My biggest sin the last go round was trying to paste in other methods on top, like the squats from Mass Made Simple or the PR sets from 5/3/1. Everything was going fantastic until I started going over the top like that, so just need to keep the governing chip on a bit.
Other reasons for choosing “Chaos Is The Plan”-
- 5 ~30 minute workouts just appeals to me more than 3-4 45+ minute workouts right now. Some people would say the opposite, but I like the “little and often” principle.
- I like the total autoregulation and freedom it gives. Rainy day and you feel like crap? Drag a kettlebell inside and do some snatches and burpees to punch the clock. Nice weather and feel like going a little nuts? Setup a circuit outside with the log, stone, and keg, and have at it. I hate the anxiety of “oh man I have to do XYZ on May 26th”. I have enough self awareness to go hard when its there and backoff when its not.
- No shame, I felt the best I have in awhile about my physique while running it. My shoulders and biceps blew up and my core felt rock solid; it was like the ultimate beach body superhero program. My girlfriend was calling me top-heavy towards the end of it, now she’s back to just squeezing my butt, haha.
- It’s just where my heart is right now. I don’t care about pushing squats and deads, but I see my stones every time I look in the backyard and I am dying to press them overhead.
Reasons for choosing the Velocity Diet
- Convenience. Time savings. Mental load. I drink the shakes during the day and have a huge dinner at night. If my weight isn’t where I want it to be I can adjust the evening meal accordingly. I’ve been doing this for 5 days and its already a huge relief.
10 Likes
4/2/25 - Brian Alsruhe’s “45 Master Sessions”: Week 8, Day 5 (Light Bench)
Strength (20 minute time limit to get to top set):
A1) 1 1/4 Close Grip Bench - 89 x 5, 111 x 4, 133/155/177 x 3
A2) Lying Leg Raise - 5 sets of 10
Volume (10 minute EMOM):
B) 1 1/4 Close Grip Bench - 111 x 5 x 10
Assistance (10 minute time limit):
C1) Wide Ring Pushups - 8/7/7/7/7
C2) Sandbag Rows - 150 x 7/6/6/5/5
C3) KB Towel Curls - 35 x 9/8/7/7/8
37:37
- Excellent session. Solid progress on the strength and volume portion of the workout. The assistance work was money. That ring pushup variation is awesome for the chest; you go out to a fly position at the bottom but press back towards the center as you come up (@Stormblessed I see you’ve been playing with the rings lately, give it a shot). Used the sandbag for the obligatory post-bench rows as I think I’ll skip the events day for the last 2 weeks of the cycle to really emphasize recovery and push for big weights; I’ll make up the missed volume in the assistance. And doing curls right after them was very spicy indeed.
- Progression from Cycle 1: Strength 155 x 5 > 166 x 4 > 177 x 3, Volume 100 x 5 x 10 > 107 x 5 x 10 > 111 x 5 x 10
9 Likes
Gave these a go today…great variation, thanks for the tag man. I’m new to the rings and still shaking quite a bit as I stabilize, very humbling. Bringing the hands to the center give an insane chest pump
3 Likes
This week got derailed. Had to say goodbye to another one of our dogs on Thursday; he was 16. It all happened pretty fast, less than a week really. When we said goodbye to our Yorkie in February we had about 8 months to make peace with it, so this was harder in some ways. And losing them this close together was obviously hard too. Really puts things in perspective as far as what is important in life.
The rain has been a real thorn in my side this week too. It’s been almost every day and isn’t supposed to let up until Tuesday. Really makes it hard to find a clear hour for me to go outside and set my stuff up that actually aligns with before/after work times. I can don the poncho for the vest walks (actually prefer them being incognito like that if I’m honest) and I can usually find a 5 minute block for the daily work, but I’m not going to get my barbell/squat stands/bumper plates/etc wet and risk them getting rusty. At this point I still technically have 7 sessions of the Alsruhe program left to get through. I may just pick and choose which sessions to do next week, or I may close that book and treat it as a bridge week back to the Chaos Is The Plan stuff.
Here’s what I’ve been too busy to log-
4/2/25
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
4/3/25
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
4/4/25
12 chins/48 pushups/72 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
4/5/25
60 pushups/75 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
7 Likes
I’d always personally want to finish a program, particularly on the first run through, but you’ve given it a solid run and don’t gel so well with the lower rep stuff. Reckon it’s a program you’ll return to at some point, or a one and done?
2 Likes
That’s so tough. I’m sorry to hear this and sending you a hug.
3 Likes
Dude, I’m so delighted to hear that you got such excellent results with that approach! You’ve done such an outstanding job piloting it, I can’t wait to see what round 2 brings.
2 Likes
Second that, sorry somehow missed the more important thing in replying. Condolences, losing a dog is a super hard thing emotionally.
3 Likes
Appreciate the accountability check @alex_uk; no knock on the program at all, it’s been a great learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone on the fence. At this point its just a logistics issue. I train outdoors year round as my equipment lives in my shed and I should have known that would become an issue at some point. I wanted to knock out a few more days of the program before I leave on vacation this upcoming Saturday but 3 out of 5 days this week I will be rained in; at a certain point the axiom of " a good plan executed today is better than a great plan executed tomorrow" becomes true. Anyways, thanks again for checking in and thanks for the kind words in your other message (thank you @QuadQueen as well).
@T3hPwnisher yeah man that protocol was a serious revelation and I can see it becoming a regular feature in my rotation; I wasn’t joking when I said I see it as my “park bench” program going forward. The flexibility also just fits so well in my life right now. I had to work a 10hr shift today but was still able to get my training in because of how “simple, but not easy” it is. Very little setup/cleanup.
4/6/25 - Daily Work
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
4/7/25 - Chaos Is The Plan - Chapter 2: Week 0, Day 1 (Pre-Vacation Bridge Week)
A1) Double Kettlebell Snatch (35s) - 17 sets of 5
A2) Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 6
B1) Diamond Pushups - 12/7/5/5
B2) Wide Pushups - 13/10/9/9
27:20
- This was a rainy day indoor workout if the movement selection didn’t make it obvious. No excuses…
- I wanted 20 sets on the snatches but could feel my hands starting to complain. No need to rip a callous on the first day back.
- The pushup finisher was done Tabata-style.
4/7/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
4/8/25 - Chaos Is The Plan - Chapter 2: Week 0, Day 2 (Pre-Vacation Bridge Week)
A1) Sandbag Clean + Press + Squat + 50ft Bearhug Carry (100lb) - 1+1+1+50ft…1+1+5+50ft…1+1+1+50ft
A2) Rope Chins - 4/4/4/3/3/3/3/3/3
25:33
- If that doesn’t make sense, each round I added a squat, up to 5, then went back down the ladder to 1. Even with the carries it wasn’t hard on the legs, but all that time hugging the bag, then straight to rope chins, has left me with a fantastic bicep pump all day.
- Cleaning/pressing the sandbag was a little harder than I remember. Hoping its a skill issue and it comes back quickly, as clean & pressing its cooler older brother the atlas stone is my main goal.
4/8/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
7 Likes
Sorry to hear about your pup. 16 is a pretty great age for a dog to get to
1 Like
4/9/25 - Chaos Is The Plan - Chapter 2: Week 0, Day 3 (Pre-Vacation Bridge Week)
10 round giant set, alternate circuits every 3 minutes:
A1) Axle Clean & Press each rep - 110 x 3 x 5
A2) Ring Dips - 5 x 5
A3) Hanging Knee Raises - 5 x 5
B1) Log Clean & Press each rep - 106 x 3 x 5
B2) Ring Rows - 5 x 8
B3) V-Ups - 5 x 5
28:31
- Excellent workout. Log and axle make a great pair and the assistance work was solid. I did tear that callous that bothered me Monday though; annoying…
4/9/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
9 Likes
4/10/25 - Easy Conditioning/Daily Work
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
10 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
4/10/25 - Chaos Is The Plan - Chapter 2: Week 0, Day 4 (Pre-Vacation Bridge Week)
A1) Double Kettlebell Clean once & Press away (35+44) - 5 ladders of 2/3/5/10 (alternating sides each set… mostly)
A2) DB Upright Rows (10s) - 5 sets of 10-12 (52 total reps)
A3) Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 5-6 (26 total reps)
29:46
- Another rainy day indoor workout, this time a Dan John inspired benchmark - 100 double KB presses in 30 minutes. That was a tough one. Maybe if I drop that bulletproofing work between the lower rep rounds could I get by with cleaning every rep rather than using the press away method, but its a big maybe. A smart strategy would be to use the heavier bell on my left arm for the lower rep sets, so that I can save it for my right arm on the 10s, and that’s just what I did on the last round, hence the “mostly”.
8 Likes
4/11/25 - Chaos Is The Plan - Chapter 2: Week 0, Day 5 (Pre-Vacation Bridge Week)
A1) Hang Muscle Snatch + Klokov Press - 45 (empty power bar) x 10+10 x 10
A2) DB Hammer Curls (10s) - 10 sets of 10
28:28
- Another rainy morning and stuck indoors. Luckily I keep my power bar in the closet under the stairs, as I wasn’t feeling a 3rd kettlebell workout this week. This was a little harder than it looks, but not quite as hard as yesterday. Most surprising thing was a sneaky hamstring pump, but it was basically 100 RDLs, so not that surprising. Big time shoulder and trap pump, too.
- Daily work and easy conditioning to come later. Then off to Arizona tomorrow to escape this rain and bask in the desert heat!
7 Likes
4/11/25 - Daily Work/Easy Conditioning
10 chins/50 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest, then 2 more miles sans vest to make sure the dog was good and tired. I feel bad that he lost his 2 little buddies this year and I’m leaving him alone with my mom for a week. Gonna miss the meathead.
9 Likes
