That’s a lot of sets! But I believe this is the way to go if you want to get good at this. Many quality sets.
This is a very good realization. Keep doing it in this fashion and your muscles will grow while your joints will thank you. Then later, there will come a point with even set you’ll have a crazy pump
This is so wholesome to read. I hope one day I’ll be able to feel that.
It has definitely helped. The first 6 weeks of the program were a bit of a struggle, but now that I’ve finished week 9, the skill/strength realization has been awesome.
Thanks! I probably won’t be satisfied until I’m doing them with close to bodyweight, however. If (when) I can hit a BW power snatch, I’ll be elated.
That’s a great goal, I should do the same lol! Next program my main lifts will be power things, so I’ll try to aim for this! (still have like 25 lbs to go)
I was initially upset at myself for not pushing my run, but I need to remember that while I do want to improve, the main purpose of these sessions is aerobic/cardiac improvement and recovery; I’m not trying to bust my balls here.
@T3hPwnisher your quote from Berardi was a lightbulb moment for me; normally I’m a candy and cookie fiend, but lately I just have no desire for them when presented. Combined with just generally feeling good, I suspect I’m on the right nutritional path for my body lately. I should market this milk and honey thing. Maybe call it “The Promised Land Diet”.
Little HIC session from Tactical Barbell. This was much harder than I thought it would be; the swings and snatches weren’t the difficult part really, it was the jump rope. It absolutely gassed me for some reason. Guess I forgot skipping is a skill I took for granted when I was training martial arts regularly. Additionally, the fucking shin splints were insane by the end of the session, worse than running.
All that to say, I might keep this as a mainstay session, because it’s short and an absolute doozy. It’s also helpful as I don’t need to go anywhere and can do it at home if it’s raining or, like last night, I need to be home while my kid is sleeping.
Had a big drop off in snappiness by the end of the snatches. Part of my issue is overthinking the movement; I start trying to remind myself to do X, Y and Z, instead of just doing the movement and making one, maybe two minor adjustments on the next rep or set. This usually leads to me slowing down my first and second pull too much. Also, I do better when I think more about muscling the weight up instead of having perfect, crisp technique. It’s the same on my jerks.
Long run later, followed by some Poundstone curls.
I’m not sure I’ve ever posted in your journal, but I lurk, all sorts of good work in here, well done!
Similar discovery* for me recently, cooked 2kg of chicken thighs in fajita spice mix and left them in the fridge (just because it’s insanely cheap protein and tastes good), I ate them regularly and eating the sweet stuff just dropped off. Not quite the full nutritional gambit, so not quite the same original principle but still a great lesson and this quotes were so true.
(*It’s not so much a discovery more just a proving of an obvious truth that you’ve never tested before, but can’t think of a better word).
How’s the diet now you’ve been smoothie heavy for a while?
It’s good, actually. Can be a bit boring sometimes, but I only drink them before and after work, and rotate the frozen fruit often, so it’s not so bad. I work long hours, but only a handful of days per week, so luckily smoothies don’t occupy a huge part of my diet and I still get whole food regularly.
I make them with flax, oats, protein powder, avocado, various fruit, PB and whole milk. Clocks in at about 1000 cals.
I was a little worried going into this because I haven’t run this long in a few weeks, but I was pleasantly surprised how easy it felt. Sun was shining, cool breeze in my face, and once I found a comfortable pace I had no problem turning on the cruise control and not stopping. I also mentally have an easier time with completing X distance or reps, as opposed to just going for a set amount of time; I very much have a “completionist” personality.
Curls were, well, curls. I like the neutral grip of the tricep bar, because it’s hitting portions of my forearms and biceps that are neglected by my EZ bar curls.
Deload week next week, then this block is done. All in all, I’d call it a win. It was a LOT of work on the O-lifts, and I definitely started feeling it towards the end here, but I’m way more confident on them than I was going in. If you ever want to get a lot of proficiency in a lift, do 5/3/1 Black Army Jacket.
Fuuuuuck me, this felt way harder than last time, despite getting an extra 30 seconds more skipping at the end. I have no clue why. Also, the combo of skipping and staying rooted for the swings and snatches had my feet BURNING. I’m sure I’ve lost a lot of the strength and stability in my feet since not coaching/training martial arts, because I was skilling constantly and always in bare feet.
Might rotate in KB cleans instead of swings for this one
This run was 100% mental. My stomach decided it didn’t want to digest my earlier meals, I do TERRIBLY in hot weather, and my shins were killing me. Got into the first 2km and my brain was like, “Stop. Just stop.” I was so close to listening; I almost puked twice but shook the feeling and pushed on. Wasn’t a recovery run, purely a survival run.
Deload week. All those singles were an absolute breeze. I’m absolutely, positively stronger on the power O-lifts than I’ve ever been in my entire life.
I was thinking about running, but the weather was crummy and with it being deload week, I opted for the bike instead.
After the squat and bench, I didn’t feel like doing any deload assistance, so I did a session from Tactical Barbell’s conditioning. It catches up with you really quickly. The first round I could push the running pace well enough, but by the last couple rounds my legs refused to go any faster than a quick jog.
Work schedule has my days off squarely in the middle of the week this week, so I’ll be starting up the next training block in a couple days here. SVR II for the squat and bench, power snatch and C&J on maintenance, assistance will all be mechanical or weighted dropsets, and conditioning will be biased towards higher-intensity aerobic work (like the above). Should be a good time.
30 sec kneeling German hang + 15 sec chest/shoulders flex
Barbell reverse lunge + walking lunges
2x10/leg @ 120 + 2x15/leg @ BW
30 sec quad stretch + 15 sec quad flex
Notes:
No idea if that 270x12 is a PR, but it was a confidence booster. I had a goal of 8 reps, which ended up being easy. Hit 10, realized I had more in me, so went for 12. The video (below), however, quickly shattered my confidence; I immediately became self conscious about my body, and almost deleted the video. But, I’m posting it anyways, as a reminder to myself that simply looking good doesn’t mean you ARE good, and I’m a performance-first guy. I know I’m stronger, faster, and more fit than I’ve ever been. That 3-to-1 combo far outweighs the sole point of just being ripped.
I’m also pleasantly surprised with the rest-pause numbers after the bench windowmaker. Normally I’d cap at maybe 5 and 3. I think the myo-reps and volume work last block upped my work capacity by a lot.
