Front carries are, quite possibly, one of the best exercises ever.
That session looks amazing, @garagerocker13.
Agreed. Even just doing it once a week I’ve noticed my whole back getting stronger, but especially my mid-back. I’ve had less back trouble than ever and I’m sure they’re part of the reason for it.
Thanks man!
It was amazing and terrible at the same time. I almost quit a few times but am glad I pushed myself.
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8/13/2020 - Deadlift Day
Up and at 'em. Moving slow today and pushed training back to 9:30 for a work meeting. Normal PWO routine, went with the actual pre-workout today. Hooray meth!
Deadlift
135 x 3
230 x 3
275 x 3
320 x 3
370 x 1
415 x 1
460 x 1
320 - 5 x 5
Assistance - SS w/deadlift
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
Knuckle push up - 5 x 10
No SS
Band pull apart - 50, 30, 20
I swear carries are like a cocaine supercharger for my deadlift. Back felt rock solid and I lost no energy through rounding/collapsing. Weight flew. Assistance was good, but push-ups are messing up the layers of my foot lift in my shoe and making them crinkle. Pretty annoying. Band pull aparts were fun, I should do bigger sets more often because my shoulders feel magical right now.
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So many people call squats “king of the lifts”, but my controversial opinion is that heavy loaded carries should take that crown. I have never not seen benefit from heavy carries done regularly.
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By front carries, do you just mean any weight in which the weight is held out in front of your midline?
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Yessir.
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I’d have to agree. Carries have made me better at everything (holy fuck do I hit a golf ball further since doing them regularly) and have made everything hurt less. You can visibly see an effect on my mid back as well. I used to front squat every week and never had anything like this happen from it so it must be the act of walking with the weight that has the effect.
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The downside, however, is I’ve also noticed they’ve thickened up my torso. When you’ve got some additional fat, it makes it look like dadbod 2.0.
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I embraced that long ago. Apparently my wife likes me fluffy so it all works out 
plus, most of the torso size is on the mid back. The gut distention can be fixed with a few vacuums a day, but every time I do that I piss my intestines off.
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Stomach vacuums! Forgot about those.
My wife constantly complains now that I’m bigger. When we first started dating, I was, I think, 165 soaking wet? Super lean too from training martial arts so many days a week and doing barebones lifting. Now that I’m closer to 200, all I hear is that I eat too much, I’m denting the mattress and couches, and she’s quick to point out my “dadbod”, haha.
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Right? I feel ya there. haha I think we’ve collectively gained almost 100 pounds since we met but we both like it better now. I was about 170 and was OBSESSIVE about what I ate all the time, then binged like hell and made myself sick pretty often.
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8/14/2020 - Press Day
Up and moving very slowly. Lot of caffeine and some intestinal distress but good to go. Normal PWO routine.
Press
45 x 5
70 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 3
115 x 5
130 x 5
145 x 5 - PR or close
115 - 5 x 5
Assistance
Pull up/chin up alternating sets - 10, 10, 7, 8, 7, 5, 5
Reverse lunge - 5 x 10 reps/leg
No SS
Banded tricep pushdown - 35, 35, 30
Weight moved well. I think @dagill2 said on someone’s log that it’s more important to keep your spine neutral than it is to keep a super deep breath when pressing, so I did that. And I set a PR. So there’s something to it. Assistance was good, chin ups were tough but got multiple sets of 10 which is an accomplishment.
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I’d love to take the credit, but I’m not that wise.
I coulda sworn it was you. Maybe it was Cyrrex. Either way, it worked well. haha
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I’m not sure @Cyrrex is that smart either, to be honest, but he might be hiding it well.
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Tweren’t me. I am not even certain what a neutral spine looks like in this case. Besides which my spine is shaped like two snakes fornicating, so I probably wouldn’t be able to do it in any event.
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Took a week off last week instead of doing the 5/3/1 Forever 7th Week deload. Mentally, I needed a week away and I had a couple tweaks I wanted to let heal up. Took some time with my wife and spent a couple days in Ohio’s wine country. My mental struggles have been a little more stout than usual for the last few weeks, and I don’t totally have a grasp on how to right the ship yet. I’m guessing total emotional expulsion on today’s squat workout will help at least.
Spreadsheet for upcoming Anchor:
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8/24/2020 - Squat Day
Up late and had a morning work meeting so waited til after work to lift. Took extra time with Agile 8 and did 20 jumps instead of 10.
Squat
45 x 5
145 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
265 x 5
310 x 5
350 x 7
Assistance SS w/squat
Ab wheel - 5 x 10
Seated DB Press - 30 lbs - 2 x 15
No SS
Seated DB Press - 30 lbs - 3 x 15
BB Curl - 45 lbs - 4 x 10
Band Pull apart - 40, 20
10 minutes on rower
Didn’t have a great workout but damn was it good to move around and get some energy out. My mid back was a little sensitive and I was lopsided so I cut the PR set at 7. My left side took over a lot of effort even on the ab wheel and the seated presses, which wasn’t great. Mentally I’m much better now, so I’ll count it as a win.
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8/25/2020 - Bench Day
Up and moving, groggy and sore from yesterday. Normal pre-workout routine, again with 20 jumps instead of 10.
Bench
45 x 5
95 x 5
120 x 5
145 x 5
170 x 5
195 x 5
220 x 9
Assistance - SS w/ bench
Chest supported DB row - 30 lbs - 5 x 20 - ouch
Side plank - 2 x 10 deep breaths per side
No SS
Side plank - 3 x 10 deep breaths per side
DB “plate” raise - 25 lbs - 5 x 15
I felt better today than yesterday from a strength and symmetry perspective. Still had to cut the PR set short because my back cramped on the left side. Assistance went well, but 5 x 20 DB rows was not fucking fun. Looking forward to a solid epsom salt bath tonight and some heavy carries tomorrow at lunch time.
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Why have I never done bratwurst for breakfast before? It’s pretty magical.
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