Wednesday 11/19
Striking practice in the morning. Really working on turning my kicks over and snapping them not just hammering power. Post class did 3 2min rounds of jump rope to get a sweat going. Brazilian neck front and back after that (lying on a bench head off. Making Yes, no and circle motions with head. 50-100 reps at a time till failure)
Thursday 11/20
Back squat workout
4x5 at 275 with a 315 single for fun after
Suitcase carry and leg raise superset for 5 minutes. Ran out of time to get my usual laps in.
Starting to feel the groove again. Especially with squat. Up until now since starting this been kinda just loosely following a made up plan on my head. After Thanksgiving think I need to grab a program and stick to it. Something I’ve had success in the past with is doing 75-80% on the big lifts. For 25-30 reps a session. Depending how I feel changes the rep range. Once I start doing something for 8-10 reps at a time I up the weight 15-20 lbs. This gives me some variety and wiggle room with my schedule. Tempted to just do the old reliable 5x5 but really need to lock down my lift time to get those done. No alcohol this week even though I’ve walked passed it in the store several times grabbing odds and ends. Planning on not drinking till Thanksgiving. Staying strong.
Friday 11/21
A rushed upper workout today.
Worked up to a set of 3 on bench at 265 then had to leave for work. Had a non alcoholic beer at dinner while eating out with the family.
Saturday-Monday
Saturday maxed out on squats with my dad. He needed help with some powerlifting workouts and thought I’d jump in. 380 was my best. Back and glutes have not been hurting as much. Still sore but not pinching pain. Believe it’s from all the mobility and trunk work I’ve been throwing in.
Sunday- zilch. Went to a family get together where drinks were served but I didn’t partake.
Monday
Striking practice in the morning. More conditioning focused. Followed by a squat workout. Wanted to do 20 reps total of 275 and up. Wound up doing 275 for 7, 315 for 5, 350 for 3, 275 for 5. Side bends on the gluteham chair and neck bridge rolls to finish. Squat is definitely starting to feel good again.
Planning on getting a fun upper body day tomorrow. Something fast and powerful on Wednesday then fitting in some squat towards the weekend. I do plan to drink over the Thanksgiving break.. but like I said in an earlier post I’m not planning on being 100% abstinent. I want to control alcohol like anyone would control a normal diet. Yeah I can splurge every other weekend and have a healthier relationship with it. That being said I totally respect people that decide to abstain.
Tuesday 11/25
Poliquin dropsets (6,12,24) on lat raises, kickbacks and dumbbell curls. 3 rounds of each. It takes a while but always feel a good pump from this
Wednesday-Friday 26,27,28
Clean workout. Finished with 225 for 3. Most of the reps were powers, last two of the day had to drop into a full clean to catch. Think this flared up my back issues again. Very stiff, hard to bend over the rest of Wednesday and Thursday. This morning (Friday) I did a lot of stretching and mobility and core work. Starting to loosen up again.
Monday thoughts/plan/evaluating goals so far.
Started off wanting to drink less, lift more, and train more. Think this last month I did meet those goals.
Moving forward I want to keep going to the gym for striking practice 2 times a week. Right now I have been doing just mornings. Might try to fit in the later sessions during the day here and there where more sparring is involved.
Lifting I want to follow a “plan”. Although I like having variety due to my schedule and not competing in anything particular. I think for my big lifts (bench,squat,clean,pullups) I need to do 30-40 reps a week around 70% and up. Pullups are a little different on the loading not exactly a % but still a goal of 30-40 reps a week. Squat that would be 275+ for 30-40 reps a week. Bench 230+ for 30-40 reps. Clean I need to treat a little different because the back pain and technique related to the lift. I’m actually seeing a doctor Friday to square away what’s actually wrong. I believe continuing trunk and anti rotation and rotation work will benefit this. I don’t want to be buckled down to a precise program where I feel I’m never catching my stride do to lack of sleep and injuries. On bad days I’ll stick to that 70% and on good days I’ll creep up but within reason. Still sticking with poliquin dropsets for my “bodybuilding” work
This next month I think I will focus on lifting more consistent. While last month was just drinking less. I still think a weekend off and on drinking is a good medium for myself at the moment. Going to reevaluate after Christmas. If the feeling and time is right and I’m feeling better I may get back into competition in the new year for striking or MMA. Maybe even just grappling to mix it up.
Monday continued…
Also this month of December I am investing into Creatine, protein powder, DHEA and vitamin D3. I live in the Midwest so winter is always difficult to get sun.
Also planning on reading more to replace some dopamine from alcohol
If you’re continuing to look for a plan for lifting, Dan John’s “Easy Strength” may well suit you. Lifting 2, 3 or 5 days a week, no more than 10 reps per movement, could easily get you those 30-40 touches within that rep range.
I’ll look into thanks homie 
Tuesday 12/02
Lighter volume lift today getting back into it after the short break this weekend.
Bench 3x5 at 225. Last set did 6
Chinups 3x5 at Bw. Last set did 6
Didn’t feel like a lot. But the plan is to lift more frequently so hopefully the volume adds up through the week.
Wednesday
Striking class in the morning. Hour of technique with some repetition thrown in. No time to lift between practice and work busy day. Maybe I’ll sneak some things in tonight at home
Oof. Haven’t checked in awhile. Went on a wee bit of a bender. Just kept grabbing little drinks here and there after work. Nothing crazy but not aligned with my goals. Saw a kickboxing tournament coming up in February. Might be something I lock in and train for
Update
Monday 12/15 military press but that’s it. Did some heavy sets of 3 then a couple singles for fun. Finished with 175. In college I was able to do 185 reps so I kinda want to get back to that.
Tuesday 12/16 Back squat 4x3 275,295,315,335 felt good. For some reason felt very strong at the bottom.
3 rounds of Poliquin dropsets on curls
3x15 super set of dips and leg raises
Wed 12/17 1hour striking practice. Alot of reps of kicks. Working on snapping it and recoiling back to a fight stance not just leaving the leg out there. Was going to Clean but got interrupted
How’s the “drink less” going?