For the snatches, are you doing 21 each arm, 15 each arm, and 9 each arm or alternating arms each rep through the set?
I think legs are for strength, power, and performance. No one cares how they look unless you just have an absurdly disproportionate physique. I’ve spent pretty much all of my training life emphasizing legs and back. The end result is that my chest and shoulders don’t look the way I want.
I was but I wanted to try this gem out. Today was glorious but it was a low rep day. I’ll probably feel differently when I’m doing 12 reps per set.
Also, it’ll take nine weeks to run through each phase. Doing it a second time finishes out the year perfectly.
I only used my left arm. My right arm is still out of commission. I’d do a regular power snatch if I could.
For conditioning, you can do whatever you want. Brian suggests doing something that uses the muscles trained that day. Some days I might just do sprints. I added a few of those to my warm up today.
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Reminds me of crossfit, did something like that once, but clean and press, ugh I hated it 
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I’m slowly learning from CrossFit. This couplet was perfect but I’m no stranger to biting off more than I can chew and dying partway through the session.
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Yeah that’s one lesson I learned the hard way. Very very rarely you should go 100% in conditioning/Crossfit stuff
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Remember good mornings. Tons of ways you can do them, and they’ll definitely have carryover to deadlifts.
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Wow I blinked and you had over a hundred posts on your log. Hard to keep up. Add me to The committed list.
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Solid first entry to the blog man, well done! You’re going to dig the Alpha style workouts, high rep days be damned.
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9.3.19
Woke at 213.8 lbs - a six pound dip after yesterday’s ugly weigh-in.
@simo74, Sorry, bud! Sometimes the training takes a back seat to the chit chat.
@mr.v3lv3t, I loved yesterday’s session. It was perfect. I top out at 12 reps so the higher rep days won’t be terrible. And I’ll be starting with around 50% of my 1RM, but I must admit I really have no idea what my maxes are. I guestimated that my squat max is probably around 300 lbs these days (if that) so I went with 205 on Smith squats and it felt heavier than I’d hoped. I’ll try to use a regular barbell and rack next time; hopefully that will actually make it better.
The loads will be easy to adjust over time. I really enjoyed the pace yesterday. The work wasn’t soul crushing and I was able to keep a decent pace.
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Great and tough conditioning workout. How do you feel about doing box jumps at that volume with short recovery.
I felt fine. I actually intended to use the 18" box but the 24" was manageable. I’m very methodical. Jump, step down, step down, reset, repeat. My landings could be better. I’m louder than I’d like to be but everything else was good.
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Exactly where my mind went. Chain suspended or off pins go a long way too.
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PT Update
Today was eval day at PT. We measured flexion, abduction, internal and external rotation, and biceps and triceps strength.
- Biceps and triceps strength is equal or greater than my left arm.
- Flexion sucks and is about 2/3 the strength of my left arm.
- Abduction also sucks and is in the 2/3 range
- Internal rotation strength is good and nearly equal, only a few pounds away from the left.
- External rotation is crap. It went up to 18 lbs from 11 pounds but my left arm is over 30. We’ve absolutely hammered my external rotation so this is frustrating. My therapist actually recommended that I back off a bit. I’ve been doing PT twice a week plus throwing in some stuff on my own 2-3 days a week. I’m just going to add a little bit to PT from now on and see what happens. I’m wondering if I’m just worn out.
My big takeaways from today is that I need to improve flexion (front raises), abduction (lateral raises), and external rotation. Those will be my points of emphasis moving forward. I’m hoping this is the last week of weight restrictions, too.
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No training today. I’m worn out. Multiple nights of bad sleep combined with lots of physical activity caught up to me. I probably over ate, too.
Well, maybe I’ll be able to get it together tomorrow.
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9.4.19
Woke at 214.4 lbs. Still not happy with nutrition, but still not fixing it.
@isdatnutty, how long did it take for you to adjust to your new eating schedule? I messed up my digestive system and I can’t wait for it to settle down. I’ve been off since I went to Colorado over two weeks ago.
Moved it here so as not to clutter up @simo74 log.
Are you sure this is true? I’m sure you can find ways of measuring physique.
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Well, I don’t trust my eyes to provide honest feedback. I’ve gained weight. I’ve lost weight. And I don’t know if I accomplished anything. The tape measurements are always pretty close at any given weight. It’s not like my chest is bigger at 213 than it was a couple years ago at 217 lbs.
Strength is easily measured. I track all my training in a log book and I’ve started using a phone app because it’s easy to select a specific exercise and instantly see the history. Thanks to gravity, these numbers don’t lie. I can’t misconstrue them in any way. If I’m using more weight for a certain rep scheme or doing more reps with a given weight then I’ve improved.
This is my approach. I just don’t trust myself to base things on physique. I don’t believe this is an absolute, or that everyone should follow this approach. I just think it’s the best one for me. And I’m hoping to not get caught up on max strength. I’m hoping to see results for sets of 6 and 8 reps.
Another major issue that I haven’t really mentioned (but you have probably seen it indirectly) is an internal battle with myself about abs. They’re stupid. I see other people and think they look good even without a six pack. They’re muscular. They have nice lines between the pecs, delts, traps, and lats. Their midsection might look flat. No distinct lines but no rolls, either. I think that looks great. Why can’t I see that in myself, though? Why am I so abusive towards myself? If I can see something as a positive in others then why can’t I accept if for myself? I don’t really know, but I’m working on it.
I’m pretty sure I said I have no reason to weigh more than 215 lbs after my weight loss for the T-ransformation Challenge, but I find myself questioning that. I’m still hungry a lot of the time. If I eat just a little more and let my weight climb up to 220 or 225 then will I be happier? Eating would be a lot less restrictive. Heck, maybe I could even eat like a normal person and stop weighing my food.
I know the answer to this question for the average person, but I’m not average (at least not mentally LOL). We’ll see how the year progresses for me. I’m two months from the annual food gauntlet. Halloween signals the start. I’ll be surrounded by candy at the end of October. The end of November is Thanksgiving and a month after that we have Christmas and New Years. I could probably gain 10 lbs if I ate the way my heart desires during that time. My sweet tooth kicks into overdrive.
Anyway, my thought process has derailed this morning. I think I’ve gone down the rabbit hole far enough for now. As always, thanks for trying to be the voice of reason. That’s why I love this place.
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No worries man. I’m not trying to give you the answers, just ask the questions that make you think a bit.
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@Frank_C: I’d like to say thanks for being so open and honest about your relationship with food in your log.
If you don’t mind me asking, when did you start tracking macros?
My first run with tracking food occurred around 2004 or 2005. I took a beginner nutrition class and had to use FitDay to track food for a week. The assignment was to make adjustments so that we hit all of the recommended stuff. I was “bulking” and overeating so my stuff was all out of whack. I couldn’t even fix it for the assignment; I had to just plan a fresh day. 
I would say I actually started tracking intentionally sometime back in 2009 or 2010. I’m pretty sure it coincided with the purchase of my first smart phone. I try to get away from it but I always end up overeating when I’m not accountable to the log. I’ll make some toast and put peanut butter on it and then scoop out like 3 extra tablespoons and eat it right before I put the lid on. 150 calories here and there throughout the day adds up fast.
I think to successfully get away from tracking my food, I’ll first have to stop logging it. I’ll still need to measure my portions, but I’m getting an idea about how much meat, veggies, and carbs I can eat and stay within budget. Hopefully my eyeballs will stop lying to me about portion sizes and I’ll be able to judge that without the scale, too.
I’m also still playing with different food timing to see if that helps. I can put off breakfast or skip it altogether and make it til about 10ish before I feel like I need to eat. But once I start eating, it’s on. I can have a 650 calorie meal at 10 and be hungry at noon. I’m in my first week of a new approach. If it pans out then I’ll share it, but I figure there’s no need talking about it if I just trash it in a few days.