Cardio Incline treadmill walk
3.01 miles / 447 calories / 48:02 minutes
I’ve been doing some hard thinking about what I want to accomplish over the next 4-5 weeks. Very influenced by Eugene Teo’s recent appearance on Mark Bell’s Power podcast - particularly his embrace of aggressive fat loss. Resonated with me deeply. Going to give it a try - and make a corresponding training program change, as well.
Squat
BW box jumps x 5
bar x 10
BW box jumps x 5
75 lbs x 8
BW box jumps x 5
100 lbs x 6
+25 lb ab crunches x 20
125 lbs x 4
+25 lbs ab crunches x 20
150 lbs x 6
+25 lbs ab crunches x 20
175 lbs x 6
+25 lbs ab crunches x 20
200 lbs x 6
+25 lbs ab crunches x 20
Bench press (Swiss bar)
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
90 lbs x 6
105 lbs x 4
120 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with DB rows 75 lbs x 6 x 6
I’ve been wanting to do this program for some time - and now seems like an ideal time, partly because I’m trying a more aggressive approach to fat loss over the next 4-5 weeks …
And partly because I prefer a more athletic weightlifting approach. The idea of doing one exercise per session, even with antagonists, even with accessories, bores me to death. I like to leave the gym feeling as if I’ve covered the bases, and a workout with a lower body strength exercise, an upper body push, and an upper body pull continues to be what I most enjoy. I also love getting to the squat rack and settling in for an hour or so rather than having to wander around the gym from machine to machine.
70 minutes total training time. Wonderful. Will try and squeeze in the 10-minute warmup to start.
Warmup Incline treadmill walk
0.61 miles / 75 calories / 10:32 minutes
Deadlift
bar x 10
BW broad jumps x 5
100 lbs x 8
BW broad jumps x 5
130 lbs x 6
BW broad jumps x 5
160 lbs x 4
BW HLRs x 10
BW HLRs x 10
190 lbs x 6
BW HLRs x 10
220 lbs x 6
BW HLRs x 10
250 lbs x 6 (!)
BW HLRs x 10
The top set was hard. At least two hitched reps. I tried a mixed grip to see if there was a significant difference and there wasn’t. I’ve suspected that maybe I need to drop my deadlift TM down by 10-20 pounds. Or maybe a few technique adjustments will help.
OHP
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
75 lbs x 6
85 lbs x 4
95 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with pullups/chinups +25 lbs x 6 x 6
A little longer of a workout than I wanted at 100 minutes. About 30 minutes longer than the squat workout. Even with the warmup factored in, it was still 20-ish minutes longer. No crime. But I’d really like to get everything done in 90 minutes or less.
Warmup Incline treadmill walk
0.61 miles / 75 calories / 10:31 minutes
Squat
bar x 10
BW box jumps x 5
105 lbs x 8
BW box jumps x 5
125 lbs x 6
BW box jumps x 5
155 lbs x 4
175 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with +25 lbs abs crunch x 20 x 5
Bench (Swiss bar)
bar x 10
60 lbs x 8
Kroc row 75 lbs x 6
75 lbs x 6
Kroc row 75 lbs x 6
90 lbs x 4
Kroc row 75 lbs x 6
105 lbs x 6
Kroc row 75 lbs x 6
120 lbs x 6
Kroc row 75 lbs x 6
135 lbs x 6
90 minutes total training time. The abs crunches were the hardest part of today’s session. Trained fully carbed up (44g intra) and glad I did. I remember a Jeff Nippard video where he noted research that encouraged 0.5g of carbs for every minute of weight training past 30 minutes. I overshot it a bit this time, but I’m going to try and keep this up - just gotta remember to take my Indigo 3G!.
“If you’re a grappler, if you want to be a power grappler, if you want to take guys down, if you want to dominate positions, get submissions, you can’t be a skinny little bitch.”
UFC fighter Michael Chiesa on the mistake he made in focusing exclusively on MMA skill development and abandoning strength and conditioning before his loss to Kevin Lee five years ago.
Cardio Incline treadmill walk
3.03 miles / 455 calories / 48:02 minutes
Watched Craig Jones vs Pedro Marinho ahead of Marinho’s match against Gordon Ryan in a few weeks. Craig seemed out of his element. They said he wanted to wrestle and avoid pulling guard and it looked like that decision became a bit of a distraction midway through the contest.
Warmup Incline treadmill walk
0.75 miles / 93 calories / 13:01 minutes
Deadlift
bar x 10
BW broad jumps x 5
100 lbs x 8
BW broad jumps x 5
130 lbs x 6
BW broad jumps x 5
160 lbs x 4
190 lbs x 4
220 lbs x 4 x 4
superset with HLRs 10 x 5
OHP
+25 lbs pullup x 6
bar x 10
+25 lbs neutral grip x 6
65 lbs x 8
+25 lbs chinup x 6
80 lbs x 6
+25 lbs pullup x 6
95 lbs x 6
+25 lbs neutral grip x 6
105 lbs x 6
+25 lbs chinups x 6
Why do so many people respond to questions with some variation on “look it up yourself”? Why not just ignore the question if you don’t think it’s worth asking (or, apparently, worth answering)?
Squat
bar x 10
BW box jumps x 5
65 lbs x 8
BW box jumps x 5
90 lbs x 6
BW box jumps x 5
115 lbs x 4
140 lbs x 8
165 lbs x 8
190 lbs x 8
superset +25 lbs ab crunches 15 x 4
I’ve decided to scale down abs work over the duration of the cycle: 20 x 5, 15 x 4, 10 x 3, none during the fourth or deload weeks. Then start over again. Also I usually take one minute between exercises - including the superset exercise. The 165 set felt a little tougher than I expected, so I took an extra minute between the crunches and my top set (i.e., two minutes). Made 190 lbs feel better than 165 lbs.
Bench (Swiss bar)
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
90 lbs x 6
105 lbs x 4
120 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with DB rows 70 lbs x 8 x 6
The 75 lbs DBs were being used, so I decided that I’ll scale this assistance work. I’ll do 65 lbs x 10 x 6 after this week, nothing for the 8/6/4 and deload weeks. Then go up five pounds and start over.
Skipped the warmup because I was pressed on time. Starting to think about a new training time that would keep me from feeling a little rushed when it comes to training. Also had to wait a bit to get one of the three squat racks, which is rare, tbh. But the barbell part of the gym is more crowded than it was when I started training here almost a year ago.
Cardio Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 406 calories / 49:02 minutes
Watched Gordon Ryan v. Pedro Marinho in the WNX Finale Main Event during cardio. Good grief. Ryan is virtually unstoppable. Looking forward to his upcoming rematches against Pena and Magalhaes (two of the only three guys to beat Ryan at black belt).
Deadlift
bar x 10
BW broad jumps x 5
90 lbs x 8
BW broad jumps x 5
120 lbs x 6
BW broad jumps x 5
150 lbs x 4
180 lbs x 4
210 lbs x 4
240 lbs x 4
superset with HLRs BW x 8 x 4
OHP
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
75 lbs x 6
85 lbs x 4
95 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with pullups/chinups +25 lbs x 6 x 6
Squat
bar x 10
BW box jumps x 5
105 lbs x 8
BW box jumps x 5
125 lbs x 6
BW box jumps x 5
155 lbs x 4
175 lbs x 6 x 6
superset with +25 lbs x 15 x 4
Bench (Swiss bar)
superset with Landmine row
bar x 10
bar x 10
65 lbs x 8
65 lbs x 8
75 lbs x 6
75 lbs x 6
85 lbs x 4
85 lbs x 4
95 lbs x 8
95 lbs x 8
110 lbs x 4 + 2 + 2
110 lbs x 8
95 lbs x 8
125 lbs x 8
Rows before bench presses. The landmine row at 110 lbs was too much - had to rest pause the set a little. Moved back down to 95 lbs which was challenging but doable.
70 minutes total training time. Skipped warmup, which was probably a bad idea since I feel as if I strained my groin just a little during the squats. I need to work on my time management so I’ve got a full 90 minutes to devote without feeling rushed.
Cardio Incline treadmill walk
3.01 miles / 475 calories / 55:01 minutes
Tape Study During Cardio
Other Thoughts
“We make all our trainers compete in a strength sport. You cannot be a trainer for us if you don’t. Because that’s how you know (what your clients are going through).” --Matt Wiedemer
I remember a woman, a blue belt, once criticizing higher belts at our academy for not competing more in local events. She felt strongly about it - that the higher belts were not putting themselves to the same sorts of tests, trials, and tribulations as the lower belts. I’ve never forgotten that.
