Decided that, because I’ll be doing a LOT of overhead/pressing movements in my next block (literally all the barbell lifts I’ve chosen have the goal of locking your arms out), I need to pay special attention to taking care of my shoulders; I have a long history of full or partial dislocations, both anteriorly and posteriorly, from my martial arts career, and I can’t afford blowing them out again.
Windmills once again prove to be a super solid exercise. You’re got hip and hamstring use, obliques, and the entire shoulder girdle being challenged. I think they’ll be a great compliment to my next block.
After those band dislocations and arm circles, my ENTIRE shoulder girdle/upper back was torched. It also made my shoulders feel better than they had been in a long time. If I’m thinking about longevity and practicality of training for life as opposed to pure strength and size, those exercises are a win.
Officially the most weight I’ve ever handled on the bench press, so I’d call today a win.
Decided to double the weight and strap up on the DB rows. I’m not a fan of bodybuilding style low weight, slow reps, which I was needing to do before; I’d rather have a strong back than a big back.
That last hang power snatch was not as smooth as I wanted. Definitely muscles the shit out of it which is not good.
Didn’t want to go as hard on the assistance today so I used a band instead of dumbbells for my OHP and curls. Still got a good pump and blasted the muscles but without as much fatigue.
Did not get enough sleep going into this due to 1) my teething kid, and 2) my cat being a jerk and deciding the entire house needed to be awake at 0530. Because of that, I chose to only do one Joker set, which proved to be the right call; that second rep at 200 was sketchy.
Hungarian plate twists are an exercise I picked up while watching the training of a hammer thrower (forgot his name). It’s basically a regular standing plate twist done in a reversed wood chopper motion. You’re twisting the plate up and over your shoulder using trunk and hip rotation. Great movement.
Gonna start adding my daily food into my log as well. Meals below:
The snatch and clean & jerk (and their variations) are without a doubt my favourite lifts. It just feels so badass hauling weight off the ground to overhead.
Rice and oatmeal (starchy carbs in general outside of potatoes) bloat me beyond belief. I can only have them right before bed so I sleep through the ensuing ass-quaking gas attack. For the most part, I cut them out and noticed energy is fine, but recovery can suffer unless you jam a lot of fruit down your gullet.
Breakfast cereal goes down super easy for me around training. I will mix it with protein powder and milk and get it all in pretty easy. You can go healthy or sugary depending on preferences.
@garagerocker13 I’ve definitely noticed and energy drop since cutting them out/reducing them, unfortunately. Especially in the last week.
@T3hPwnisher cereal and me have a tumultuous relationship going back to childhood. I hate it. Could probably look into granola and yogurt, but cereal and milk is no bueno, haha.
Probably going to have to eat more carbs anyways now. I happened to score big on really cheap meat the last few weeks, but my horde is dwindling. Combined with getting a new car that we desperately needed, money’s gonna be tight so it looks like I’m gonna be eating a lot of grain/legumes and milk. Meat’s gonna be more of a luxury item. Oh well. I’ve eaten like this before and been all right. Just gotta remind myself: food is fuel.
Deload week. Nothing fancy. Looking forward to starting the new program next week.
Tried eating more oats and rice this past week and I just can’t do it. The second they hit my stomach I’m full. Swapping them out for hearty breads and lentils/beans.
Meals below:
Morning meal: 3 eggs, 1/2 cup mixed berries, 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 250ml whole milk, scoop of protein (35g), 2 slices wheat toast w/ PB
Midday meal/snacks: 500ml bone broth, 2 handfuls almonds, tbsp raw honey, banana
I had forgotten that yoga, if you’re actively engaging and not just passively stretching, can be fucking hard. I was sweating by the end of this. I used to do yoga at least twice a week, and need to do that again at minimum. My body has been feeling like shit lately from work.
Didn’t eat enough the last couple days. It’s just so hard because I despise having my life revolve around food, and once I’ve eaten breakfast and get started on my day, the thought of losing momentum to stop and eat lunch drives me nuts. I’ve been experimenting with just eating multiple snacks and small meals, but my body let me know it definitely wasn’t enough today.
Meals below. Same as yesterday, however:
Morning meal: 3 eggs, 1/2 cup mixed berries, 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 250ml whole milk, scoop of protein (35g), 2 slices wheat toast w/ PB
Midday meal/snacks: 500ml bone broth, 2 handfuls almonds, tbsp raw honey, banana