Kdjohn: Physical Philosophy & Iron Insights

22/02/2020

  • SSB squat: worked up to 5RM @ 300lbs, 190x20 AMRAP
  • SSB good morning: 2x12 @ 155
  • Reverse hyper: 2x25 @ 60
  • Prowler sprint: 2x40 yrd @ 90, 2x40 yrd @ 135, 2x40 yrd @ 180

Notes:

  • My gym recently got a SSB, which I was immediately excited about. I have a history of wrist and shoulder injuries from martial arts and both front and back squats make my upper body cranky after lots of squatting. Man oh man, do I ever love this bar. It feels way more natural to me. Seeing as I don’t plan on ever competing and only use squats to increase lower body strength, the SSB is great.
  • Once again, throbbing headache on the AMRAP. This is frustrating.
  • SSB good mornings felt great too.
  • By the time I finished all the prowler pushes, combined with everything else, my ENTIRE lower half was so exhausted I could barely walk. Felt like a drunk person. 10/10, would repeat.
2 Likes

That does look like a pretty awesome way to hit the whole lower body, and much of your back as well.

Keep it up dude!

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It was invigoratingly painful. I loved it.

24/02/2020

  • Press: bar x5, 95x5, 105x5, 120x3, 135x6, 105x13/5/4
  • Chins: 5 reps between all press sets
  • 1-arm DB rows: 5x5 @ 105
  • Weighted dips: 1x5 @ 25, 1x5 @ 35, 3x5 @ 45
  • Fat bar zercher carry: 1x40 yrd @ 105, 1x40 yrd @ 135, 3x100 yrd @ 155

Notes:

  • Not as many reps as I’d like on the press AMRAP sets, but once I started needing to grind I could feel the exertion headache coming on, so I cut it there.
  • Surprised myself on the weighted dips. This is something I’d like to progressively add to.
  • It’s crazy how fast my endurance improves. Last week, those 3x100 yard zercher carries had me gasping for air and dying. This week I got through all 3 sets with zero issue. I’m definitely built for endurance.

25/02/2020

  • Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 305x5, 345x3, 385x8, 305x15
  • Back raises: 2x12 @ 45
  • Band ham curls: 1x50
  • Fat bar curls: 2x25 @ 65

Notes:

  • Definitely had more reps in me on the deadlifts, but I felt the headache coming on right around rep 7 and cut it at 8. I would imagine 2-3 more reps were in the tank at least, as I hadn’t begun to slow down much. Similar situation on the drop set; got to 15 and had to cut it, though I imagine 20 was there.
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Nice set! Your down set was more than my top set. Good work right there.

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Have always thought that lifting that big ass stone and walking it would be pretty cool.

Do you have/or plan to get access to a coffin for some load carries.

While I’m not at all committed to it I’m actually better placed than ever to take a run at it because I’ve just joined a powerlifting/strongman gym where they got loadable coffins.

Might see u in Iceland one day lol

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Thanks, man. Still got a long way to go though. I’d love to turn that into 405x15.

I do, yeah. Already started saving my pennies for one.

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F’n A dude, nice work!

Also, I’m jealous that you’re actually strong at curls in the bro-iest way possible.

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Thanks! I wish I was actually good at curls, haha. Keep in mind that’s 65lbs TOTAL (15lbs for the bar plus a 25 on each side), and I’m using a little body English. I wish I was repping 65 per arm.

I don’t know that I could do 25 reps once with 45 lbs, let alone for 2 sets. Haha

Join the curl brigade!

I will donate 5 cents

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27/02/2020

  • Sandbag carry: 5x20 yrd @ 200+
  • Med ball pick: 5x10 @ 100
  • Bench: 2x5 @ 135, 155x5, 175x3, 195x7, 155x15/5/4 (RP set)
  • Chins: 5 reps between all bench sets
  • EZ bar lying tricep extensions: 5x10 @ 75
  • EZ bar curls: 20 reps between tricep extensions

Notes:

  • I don’t know what happened, but I got buried by the sandbag. Last week the pick seemed so easy and 40 yards was no problem. This week I couldn’t pick it horizontally like last week, and a vertical pick was BRUTAL. All I could manage was 20 yards also. I asked the owner how much it weighed and he said he didn’t know, because another member brought it in, but he figures it’s easily over 200 lbs. I think I might try picking it from a high height, and progressively lower the pick height over the weeks.
  • Didn’t like the med ball picks, I think I would benefit from heavy straight-leg deadlifts or zercher good mornings more.
  • Those last 20 or so reps of curls were suuuuuper cheaty. But damn, we’re my arms ever pumped.
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29/02/2020

  • SSB squat: bar x5, 155x5, 205x5, 225x5, 255x3, 285x8, 225x15
  • SSB good morning: 3x8 @ 170
  • 1-arm DB row: 5x10 @ 85
  • Prowler sprints: 2x40 yrd @ 90, 2x40 yrd @ 135, 2x40 yrd @ 180

Notes:

  • Headache during the AMRAP, as usual. Kinda brought it on myself though, as I felt it lingering at rep 7, but I wanted 8, and sure enough it hit hard when I pushed for the 8th rep. Oh well.
  • Decided to swap DB rows into this day too. That way I have some kind of dedicated back work on all training days, as I’m finding my back is lacking during heavy picks.
  • Overall, since swapping to the SSB and putting progressively heavier prowler sprints at the end of the session, this is quickly becoming my favourite training day.
3 Likes

Whose favorite training day involves prowler sprints, you psycho?

2 Likes

I fully admit, I am slightly unhinged. Plus the leg pump is absolutely bonkers by the time I’m done.

02/03/2020

Log push press, log clean & carry (superset):

  • worked up to a 5RM log push press @ 170, 3 log cleans @ 170 + 40 yrd zercher carry
  • 1x8 log PP @ 155, 3 log cleans + 40 yrd carry
  • 1x7 log strict press + 3 PP @ 120, 3 log cleans + 40 yrd carry

Dips

  • 1x12 @ BW+25
  • 1x12 @ BW+35

1-arm DB row

  • 5x5 @ 105

Plate pinch carry

  • 1x45 yrd @ 35

Notes:

  • 1 minute between sets of log press and clean & carry. Tried supersetting some carry work as @T3hPwnisher suggested; I really enjoyed this combo, and pressing a log felt way better than pressing a bar, plus I think the log cleans will really help with the pick of a carry. Absolutely no idea what the log weighs, so I took a wild guess at around 70 pounds. It’s a smaller log, and the gym owner doesn’t know what it weighs, just that it comes from Gorilla Fitness.
  • Grip is definitely a limiting factor for me right now, so I’m gonna dedicate some time for grip work from now on. The plate pinches were HARD; they were big fat bumped plates, probably close to 3” thick.
2 Likes

03/03/2020

Deadlift

  • 135x5
  • 225x5
  • 285x5
  • 325x3
  • 365x13
  • 285x21

Barbell row

  • 3x8 @ 190

Back raises

  • 3x8 @ BW+55

Fat bar curls

  • 5x10 @ 85

Notes:

  • Didn’t up my training max for this next cycle because I wanted to see if I could beat my previous rep maxes, which I did, by one rep. Had more in me but I try to cut it before the headache gets too bad.
  • Gonna swap the barbell row for weighted chins from now on. Too much on the low back after busting my ass on deadlifts.
  • Really loving the fat bar curls.
1 Like