It’s that time of year where I, like many people, look back on the last 365 days, reflect on my accomplishments and progress, and figure out what went right & what went wrong. Not just for training but for all of life, really, but I won’t bore you with the other stuff. The truth is I’m not exactly happy with where my physique ended up at the end of the year. To those who read my writeup a few weeks ago, I definitely started to turn the ship around at the end, but there was a solid 6+ month stretch where I was “undertraining and over-recovering”.
The frustrating thing is the guy on the left wasn’t super healthy on the inside; depressed from a bad breakup, just coming off a 3 month bender of a lot of boozing, elevated cholesterol from poor food choices, and more. But I was absolutely shredded because I had trained like a madman for over a year leading up to that point. The guy on the right is in a totally different place; happily in a new relationship, haven’t had a drop of booze in over a year, my diet is the most locked in it’s ever been, and my blood markers were all outstanding at my recent physical. But, the time and effort I gave to training dropped greatly, and it shows.
My goal for 2025 is to get back to looking like the old me, while still feeling like the new me. The good news is the base is there, it’s just up to me to put in the work to uncover it. In the words of Rival Sons, “with pressure and time, I’m gonna get mine”.
Taking an impromptu deload to reset, recharge, and reassess my plan of attack. I’ve been comparing my 2023 and 2024 training logs, and my biggest takeaway is that I’ve let my GPP/base building/daily work/“whatever” fall way off a cliff. In 2023, I logged something like 8k pullups, 24k pushups, 40k BW squats, and 200 miles rucked with a vest. I didn’t come within sniffing distance of those numbers in 2024; I couldn’t even tell you the last time I took a walk with the weight vest. Other than a few challenge workouts, the vast majority of all that work was very easy, but it made a massive difference to my work capacity and obviously my physique. I’m a firm believer that this stuff forms the base of the pyramid upon which all other physical attributes are built. I need to put in the work to get that base back.
As far as all the clean & pressing goes, I’m not sure if I’m going to continue with that or pivot to something totally different. I just feel like I’m doing too many “hard” things at once; trying to master a dozen different implements each week, while doing high rep squats, throws, sled work, and all kinds of assistance. If a stranger came to me for advice and asked if this looked sensible/sustainable, I’m not sure if I could answer in the affirmative. When you’re your own coach, that’s the kind of objectivity you must have.
10 chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
1/6/25
AM
Warmup/Daily Work:
10 rope chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A) Sandbag-to-Shoulder:
100 x 1 x 5 (each side)
140 x 1 (each side)
B) Sandbag Row:
100 x 3
140 x 3 x 4
C) Sandbag Squat:
140 x 10
100 x 20, 10
D) Sandbag Lap Lift to Chest Height:
100 x 20
E1) Lying Leg Raise: 5 x 10
E2) Good Morning (+20lb vest): 5 x 10
45:04
PM
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
OK, got some stuff done and some things to expand upon…
That 5 minute daily work/warmup is a trick I’ve used in the past that I’m bringing back. It’s very easy, and I’ve pushed the reps much higher before and probably will again, but all that work adds up eventually. As Pwn says, we all have 5 minutes.
First time walking with a vest in forever and a day. I forget how liberating it is to take it off after 30 minutes - you feel so light you could jump over a house. I plan to wear that thing for a walk Mon-Fri. I’m already walking so I might as well. Again, those miles will add up.
That sandbag workout was taken from The Stone Circle on YouTube. I actually bought his ebook as the premise of combining sandbags and calisthenics greatly appeals to me, and it has programs for pressing sandbags too, which is obviously awesome. But, I don’t quite think I will able to follow it as written. I used the minimum recommended volume and rest periods, and it was still about 5-10 minutes longer than I would like to train. Not much room to grow, unfortunately. Still, I plan to incorporate some of his ideas into my training going forward.
Speaking of going forward, I have some rough plans, but would rather just let it play out in real-time as opposed to writing some manifesto upfront.
Ditto, it’s fairly observable from journals and experience, those who just generally move around more and are more intentionally active are more often than not the leaner individuals who are usually those who are well rounded in their attributes. Which is what it seems most of us are really striving for on these boards, strong, fit and happy with the reflection.
I can maintain the gym work, I’ve not yet got the discipline right for cardio and general daily activity.
@jdm135@alex_uk thanks for stopping by gents. Get on the daily work bandwagon! We can all find 4-5 minutes. Even at the very easy pace I am doing right now, this will net me 3,650 chins/10,950 pushups/18,250 squats over the course of the year. That volume adds up!
1/7/25
AM
Warmup/Daily Work:
10 rope chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
Main Work:
A1) Ring Dips - 8, 8 ,7, 7, 7
A2) Inverted Rows on ropes (feet elevated) - 12, 13, 11, 10, 10
A3) Sandbag Carry (100lb) - 4 rounds of 30 yards (1 Zercher, 1 front, 1 on each shoulder)
Bulletproof:
B1) Hammer Curls - 2 x 20
B2) OH Triceps Extension - 2 x 20
B3) Lateral Raises - 2 x 15
30:27
The rings are a pain to setup but worth it. Great stretch in the chest that I don’t really get on anything else; on pushups even more so. I could probably just leave them hanging up but not sure how they would fare in the elements.
Can probably add a weight vest to those rows next time. The only other way to progress inverted rows is to do them using front lever variations, and I think that’s way beyond my scope of ambitions. I could do them 1-handed, but I detest unilateral work.
Should be using my heavier bag on carries but it just snowed here and I didn’t want to risk wiping out. I should also be coming into possession of a 200lb bag this evening if everything goes according to plan; found a good deal on FB.
Vest walk to come later. May start logging at night so I can capture all my daily activity in 1 post.
Warmup/Daily Work:
10 rope chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
Main Work:
A1) Double KB Clean once & Press away - 35+44 x 5/5/5, 44+53 x 3/3/3 (switching sides each set)
A2) Pullup + Hanging Knee Raise (hold crunch on negative) - 4/4/4/3/3
A3) Sandbag-to-Shoulder - 100 x 2/2/2, 140 x 2/2 (switching shoulders each rep)
Bulletproof:
B1) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 3 x 10
B2) Knee Raises on dip bars - 3 x 10
29:42
PM
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
That’s just about the perfect workout in my eyes. Picking heavy stuff up off the ground, pressing stuff overhead, and moving the body though space. If someone is good at those 3 things, they’re probably in pretty damn good shape.
Some room to grow with the time there. I count the daily work in the total time because it’s literally how I start the workout, but I don’t necessarily count it towards my “30 minute session”, if that makes sense. That was 22 sets in 24 minutes basically. I do not fart around.
KB presses felt strong. Ashamed to admit that there was a time the 53 was too awkward for me to strict press at all; now I’m repping it. Next time KB presses come up I wanna give the 62 a try. Amazing what happens when you practice a movement pattern 5x a week.
One of my goals is L-Sit chins, preferably on the ropes. Totally changes the movement with your legs out in front of you, real ab and lat crusher. I could do them when I was leaner so they’re a benchmark for me to get back to.
Should’ve done more reps with the lighter bag but still a little smoked from that long sandbag-only day on Monday.
Bought a 200lb sandbag last night. Long-term goal is to shoulder it, before that I plan on doing a ton of rows/squats/carries with it.
Going to put down an “elevator pitch” of how I’m setting up the training going forward. Plan is still 5 ~30-minute full body sessions but I’m making some structural changes.
I’m tired of having to come up with workouts on the fly, so I’ve picked 6 pushes, 6 pulls, and 6 leg movements, and every morning I just roll the dice 3 times. If my math is right, this creates 216 possible unique workout combinations. Sets and reps will be autoregulated.
It’s cold and there’s starting to be snow on the ground, so some equipment is no longer really feasible to setup outdoors. I’m limiting myself to sandbags, kettlebells, and bodyweight for the next few months because of that. I actually like the idea of a forced limitation because it means I have no choice but to get strong at those things.
I’ve already written about my plans for daily work and weight vest walks; won’t repeat myself.
Yeah, that’s about it. If it sounds a lot like Wendler’s WALRUS stuff, that’s where I’ve taken a lot of my inspiration. I’ve read all his posts as well as some of the reviews from others who train that way.
Warmup/Daily Work:
10 chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
Main Work:
A1) 1 1/4 Ring Dips - 5/5/5/4/4/4
A2) Rope Chins - 7/6/5/5/5/5
A3) KB Goblet Squat - 70 x 15/15/15/15/15/15
Bulletproof:
B1) BW Curls on ropes - 15/12/10
B2) BW Triceps Ext on ropes - 15/12/10
35:42
PM
2 mile walk w/ 20lb vest
Slight variation on the ring dips to make up for just doing them 48 hours ago. That’s probably a flaw in my plan - if I draw the same exercise 2 days in a row I will probably reserve the right to play a “wild card” and do whatever I feel like that day. Still, this forced me to be creative and that was a good idea - having the double pump at the bottom where I’m weakest was clutch.
Very happy with the sustained performance on the rope chins. My grip and back endurance is very strong right now.
Holding on to the KB for those long sets sucked in the cold. Probably should slide on some gloves next time.
Probably over-corrected slightly from yesterday and did a little too much work today. 5 hard sets for each movement is probably the max of what I want to hit. Need to force myself to actually rest between sets and give each one my all.
Warmup/Daily Work:
10 rope chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
Training Max Testing:
A) Squat - 89/5, 133/4, 177/3, 210/2, 232/1
B) Bench - 89/5, 111/4, 133/3, 144/2, 155/1
C) Deadlift - 133/5, 177/4, 221/3, 254/2, 276/1
D) Clean once & Press away - 67/5, 89/4, 100/3, 111/2, 122/1
Bulletproof:
E1) Hanging Knee Raises - 3 x 5
E2) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 3 x 10
36:22
Man oh man, this week was the worst bout of fuckarounditis I’ve had in quite some time. I was trying to give the house a fresh coat of paint with the daily work and I ended up burning the whole place down in the process. Every day I changed my goals and my beliefs of how to reach them. I’m too old for that crap. Next week I’m going back to what I know works for me right now - Chaos Is The Plan, taking stuff off the floor and putting it overhead every day. I’ll keep the daily work and the rucking because it’s mentally/physically “easy”, but I’m not gonna try to frankenstein in challenging programs like Mass Made Simple/Super Squats that deserve to be run on their own, I’m not gonna do jerks (you can’t jerk a stone so why bother), not gonna do weird lifts that serve no purpose (Steinstossen?! come on man…), basically just gonna go back to how I set it up those first few months before I got cute. If I wanna hit a hard set of barbell lifts I’ll do it 5/3/1 jack shit style and use the TM’s I set today. Otherwise, “keep it simple stupid”.
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
1/12/25
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
1/13/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 1
AM
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Axle Clean once & Press away - 75 x 5, 86 x 3, 97 x 13
A2) Hanging Knee Crunches - 5/5/5
A3) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 10/10/10
B1) Axle Muscle Snatch + Klokov Press - 75 x 5+5 x 5
B2) Inverted Rows on ropes (feet elevated) - 8/8/8/8/8
B3) Sandbag-to-Shoulder - 100 x 2/2/2/2/2 (switch sides each rep)
33:59
The press away will be a good change for my heavy work. I’ve been spending all my time cleaning each rep and doing mostly lower rep sets, so my rep strength is down.
Muscle snatch + Klokovs is always a good combo. Took a few sets to get my grip width right.
Weight vest walk to follow tonight; will log with tomorrow’s post.
I have these moments so much myself. I got a wild hair to do the 10k challenge again on top of a bunch of other hard training, and I remember being on like day 6 of it, putting the KB down and thinking “what the hell am I doing?” STOPPING was probably one of the mentally hardest things I ever did, but it was absolutely the right call.
We gotta chase after these wild hairs, but then remember to “keep the goal the goal”. Excited to watch this go for you.
Thanks man. Yeah, I try not to beat myself up too hard. It’s not like I went on a cookies and frozen pizza bender; I still trained hard, tested some movements that should be good for the rotation, and likely got “better”. BUT, I have some lofty goals, and I think you need to be just a little bit obsessed and consumed to reach those kind of heights. Can’t be second guessing yourself. If you see me falling off the wagon, call me out on it!
1/14/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 2
AM
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Squat - 151 x 5, 173 x 3, 197 x 20
A2) Hanging Knee Crunches - 5/5/5
A3) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 10/10/10
B) Atlas Stone Clean & Press each rep - 95 x 1 x 10 OTM
C1) BW Bicep Curls on on ropes - 20/15/10
C2) BW Triceps Extensions on on ropes - 20/15/10
34:00
Very happy with the squat performance after not doing any real “hard” squatting for the last 4 months or so. We’ll see how far “one hard set a week” can take me.
Atlas stone moved very well for being after the 20 repper. Need to come up with ways to make this harder. Still have the idea to use it as part of a complex.
I had some carbs pre-workout (which I normally don’t) and I think it contributed to me getting a massive pump on the arm work. May have to make that part of the routine.
Coworker asked me if I’d been hitting the gym and told me my shoulders and traps are looking beefier; nice to get those observations from someone other than the girlfriend, haha.
Around workouts are definitely the times that make the most sense for carbs. What’d you go with? I’m always a fan of honey.
And good to hear that observation indeed! Putting stuff over your head just builds a visually impressive physique. We instinctively recognize the outcome of that work.
Just a banana mashed with some cinnamon; nothing super fancy haha. I should clarify that I normally eat a moderate amount of carbs - it’s just that I usually train totally fasted. I will probably keep the preworkout snack and see if it keeps helping.
1/15/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 3
AM
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Sandbag Armor Building Complex (2 Cleans + 1 Press + 3 Squats) - 100 x 5 sets
A2) Sandbag Front Carry - 140 x 20 yards (3 turn course) x 5 sets
B1) Lateral Raises - 3 x 10
B2) Russian Twists - 3 x 20
29:22
Picked up the ABC idea from a guy on reddit. The 2nd clean I take from the lap instead of the floor; not sure if that’s cheating but I like keeping the constant tension instead of resetting between reps.
It’s wild how different these 2 bags feel; the 100 I can throw around like it’s nothing, but the 140 might as well weigh 280. Similar to how minor changes in stone weight make a massive difference.
Always happy to have someone else enjoy the missilery of a good sandbag. I know exactly what you mean about the extra weight making it seem glued to the floor.
Keep an eye on my log for upcoming Saturday sessions. I am in the future down here in Australia, so you should see my sessions Friday night or Saturday morning when you wake up.
1/16/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 4
AM
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Bench- 98 x 5, 113 x 3, 129 x 20
A2) Hanging Knee Crunches - 3 x 5
A3) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 3 x 10
B1) Double Kettlebell Snatch (35’s) - 10 x 5
B2) Rope Chins - 5 x 3
B3) Wide Bar Dips - 5 x 6
34:13
Bench?! Yep. Like Mark Bell says, strength is never a weakness.
This whole workout was money. 20 reps on week 1 means my training max is right where it should be, the kettlebell snatches felt the best they ever have - like I could have thrown them over the roof of my house, and chins and dips is always great assistance work.
1/17/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 5
AM
10 chins/40 pushups/75 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Deadlift - 175 x 5, 201 x 3, 228 x 15
A2) Hanging Knee Crunches - 3 x 5
A3) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 3 x 10
Start to clean & press the keg, realize it’s frozen solid and not gonna happen, pivot to-
B) 1-Arm Kettlebell Clean & Press each rep (alternating sides each set):
44 x 5/5
53 x 3/3
62 x 1/1 (PR! First time getting that thing overhead!)
44 x 5/5
53 x 3/2 (fail 3rd rep on left side - out of gas at this point)
C) Sandbag Front Carry - 200 x 50yd (twisty course - finally taking it from truck bed to shed)
36:37
Wacky session start to finish. First time doing serious deadlifts in several months - wanted 20 reps on the top set but it was my traps and arms that were giving up, not my legs or back. Never really had that happen before - could be accumulated fatigue or a lack of specific strength from ignoring heavy pulls, or both. Oh well, it will sort itself out.
The keg being frozen surprised me as the snow on the ground is melting. Could have just tried to use it as is but the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. Kind of derailed me though as I wasted time setting it up and figuring out what to do instead. Quickly settled on the kettlebells as they require no setup - just grab and go. Very happy with the PR but then totally was out of gas afterwards.
The sandbag carry was a doozy - wasn’t entirely sure I was going to make it after all the work prior, but needed to get it out from the truck finally. I definitely want to get some more work in with that thing in the future.
10 chins/40 pushups/60 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
1/19/25
60 pushups/75 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals (snow - pullups were a no-go)
1/20/25 - Chaos Is The Plan: Cycle 2, Week 2, Day 1
AM
10 chins/30 pushups/50 BW squats in 5:00 using Tabata work/rest intervals
A1) Axle Clean once & Press away - 79 x 5, 90 x 3, 101 x 14 (PR!)
A2) Hanging Knee Crunches - 5/5/5
A3) BW Face Pulls on ropes - 10/10/10
B1) Axle Muscle Snatch + Klokov Press - 79 x 4+4 x 5
B2) Inverted Rows on ropes (feet elevated) - 10/10/8/8/8
30:45
Hell yes - more weight and more reps than last week. My press away strength came back quite fast. I knew on a visceral level that all the work I’ve put in over the last few months had no choice but to result in some PRs.
Likely could have squeezed in some work but had to shovel the yard and patio to make room for this and just wanted to get back inside.
