Sunday:
Squats
480x2, drop-down to 410x6, 320x10, 230x10, 140x10, 50 lb kettlebell goblet squat x 10
Monday morning before work:
Hit 25 burpees, 20 single-arm preacher curls with the 25 lb kettlebell (it’s what happened to be in my living room), and 30 band pull-aparts.
Lunch pic yesterday: sliced lamb from the Google campus. I deliver coffee equipment there sometimes and my coworkers fixing their machines usually hook me up. They have a nice facility but I didn’t see where their squat racks are.
Really felt the DOMS in my legs at boxing yesterday just from skipping rope, but no cramping. Was a little uncomfortable during the activity but it stayed at that level and I felt fine when we finished.
Class was pretty technicall and relatively low on the conditioning. Worked with partners the entire time, starting out with light no-contact sparring. My first partner is someone I want to work with more. He’s around my height and while pretty skinny, shows a good level of skill. Really gave me a chance to utilize footwork and movement because he was very mobile.
Next drill had us switching partners and using mitts. We would throw a jab, hold it out in the long guard, then throw a cross, slip their jab and throw a right upper-cut, and pivot into a left hook.
Ended taking turns on the bag while dodging noodles that the defender behind the bag would use to simulate hooks. Upon rolling under the hook, 4 alternating hooks are thrown. While the instructor was further clarifying for my partner how to get down low enough and roll I was already well into my Mike Tyson imaging.
This morning before work: 5 minutes of shadow kickboxing.
Had a crazy busy day yesterday but made time for a real quick night workout before bed.
Axle strict press
200x3 + 10 overhead shrugs
160x8 + 10 overhead shrugs
20 pull-ups
It’s been awhile since I’ve put 200 on the bar to press overhead and I was honestly expecting to get 2, so this was nice to hit. I’d like to bring my press up after focusing on bench for so long.
This morning: 50 band pull-aparts, 40 unbroken narrow push-ups plus 10 more after a rest-pause, and 22 single-arm preacher curls with a 25 lb kettlebell.
Leaving out of town this evening for a friend’s birthday trip until Sunday. Will do some sort of training while away.
RIP Akira Toriyama. Dragonball Z and Bruce Lee are THE 2 influences that got me into working out and martial arts. I remember a kid in my high school Japanese class telling me I should watch “real” anime, yet here I am 20 years later (after enjoying and favoriting plenty of other series) still watching and being influenced by DBZ.
Enjoyed an amazing 3-day weekend in Capitola for a friend’s birthday getaway. Did this just before leaving Thursday:
Squats
320 x 20
Reverse hyper leg curls (single leg)
3 plates x 20
Skullcrushers
50s x 3 x 8-10
Seated curls with the 50s and 35s
Actually stayed fairly on-point with my diet, except allowing myself a cheat day on Saturday. Food throughout the trip was awesome. Aside from my hotel can of tuna, every meal was a 10/10.
Breakfast on day 1: Ribs with shrimp and artichoke salad and a cappuccino
Once parked at the hotel, we didn’t drive for the entire stay because the beach was about a 20-minute walk. Got a lot of walking back-and-forth done as a result.
Came back fairly early on Sunday to bench.
Bench press
Up to 340 x 1
Switch to 2-board press: 355 x 2
315 x 4
Bench press
280 x 6
250 x 8 (close-grip)
225 x 10 (close-grip)
Lying dumbbell rows
115s x 3 x 12
Finally, this morning I hit 30 burpees before work.
DBZ was influential for me too man. I became a Sonic the Hedgehog fan first, but then my cousins introduced me to DBZ. From there, I fell down the rabbit hole of anime.
What else do you watch bro? It’s crazy how influential DBZ has been in video games, cartoons, and other anime.
@tlgains Right on man. It’s genuinely heartwarming to hear from other fans about it. I’m also really into Berserk, Fist of the North Star, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Hajime No Ippo (thank @T3hPwnisher a long time ago for that one).
Deadlifts
555 x 1, 3
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts
125s x 20 (shrug at top of every rep)
Ab wheel
10
Untimed plank while watching a DBZ AMV
Felt a little rundown and like I was lacking pop. The first single was a grind. Second set I dialed in and just berserked it up without much trouble. No missed reps either!
Trained under a new boxing coach yesterday. It was a good class. Lots of basics on the mitts but we polished things up, especially pivots. My partner holding the mitts had to leave 15 minutes early so by the time we were supposed to switch roles, I found myself striking again with a new mitt-holding partner instead of taking my turn holding them up, which was awesome. Ended with abs, which was hard on me because my abs were sore from the ab wheel and planks the night before. Coach walked up to me after class and asked me my name after he had asked me to demonstrate several drills he was introducing on the mitts earlier.
Came home, grabbed the 200 lb sandbag, and did 2 sets of 10 sandbag squats before finishing it with 25 single leg extensions with 3 plates on the reverse hyper.
Did 4 minutes of light shadowboxing this morning before work.
Also, I weighed 210 at night after a day’s worth of meals in me several days ago. Weight loss progress has been coming along at a perfect rate.
My back is sore today from deadlifts and probably from the sandbag, but in a good way. Its pain status overall has been low lately. Things have gotten better.
Gonna get swole!! Yeah back issues are always a pain.
Have you tried a reverse hyper?
@bigpappafrance Yep, got a full-sized one in my gym that I use for leg extensions and leg curls along with its primary function.
On Friday night, I squatted up to 350x5 and then walked away. Back was hurting and I was just totally spent from the week.
Went to a pool party on Saturday at the invitation of a coworker. Brought along some bison patties, but there was already tons of food and they didn’t get made, so I brought them back for myself. The pool was unheated, which I welcomed as a cold plunge but ended up being 1 of 2 people even staying in at all. It was cold as hell getting out so I did burpees away from everyone to warm-up.
On Sunday night, I went to bed early and woke up at 6:15 Monday morning to train before work. After a quick mini meal of a little oatmeal, coffee, and sips from a protein shake:
Bench press
290 x 4
275 x 4
225 x 3 x 7
Dumbbell rows
115s x 3 x 10
Rested 2 minutes or less between all sets. That factor, coupled with this being first thing in the morning, yielded numbers that I wasn’t surprised by, but the effort was there. It was really interesting: the weight felt like normal at first, but upon repping it out I found little in my tank. I do plan on making this a habit, but I’ll also lift in the afternoon sometimes as well. Flexible enough that no schedule can defeat me.
Came back in the same evening to do:
Squats
450 x 4 before stripping down to 410x3, 320x7, 230x7
20 single-leg curls with 3 plates
Kept some reps in reserve and trimmed the fat by ending the drop-down set at 230 in order to reduce muscle soreness affecting my boxing on Tuesday.
Friday night boxing was brutal. We were doing push-up variations for the majority of the hour and when we shadowboxed with weights, I put back the 3 pounders I initially grabbed and suffered with the 5s. 5 lbs sounds like nothing until spending a 10 minute round trying to punch FAST with it and holding the guard up. Eventually ended with intense rounds on the heavy bag with an emphasis on power. Very little technique analysis. My biceps were also a little sore the next day.
The way the days progress, Tuesday at the boxing gym tends to be the easiest with the most technique breakdown, Wednesday is a nice middle-ground, and Friday is mostly conditioning. It works out well, but because 1-on-1 work with a coach is so valuable, I tend to like Tuesdays the best right now. Smallest class size, too. I wanted to make it to all 3 this week but I received an email notification announcing there was a mistake in scheduling and Wednesday is full, so I’m signed for Tuesday and Friday.
Back hurt a little the next day from trying to gut through a 3-minute plank at the end of class. Always feels like my back is the failure point, not my abs, something I’m keen on rectifying by continuing to make overall improvements to my back health. I also asked about signing up for sparring and was given a form for my doctor to sign.
Noticed inner elbow pain on my left elbow recently, while last year it was my right that was giving me trouble. Will reduce the amount of push-ups and burpees I do in my free time and save that for class, for now, while finding other things to do at home instead (hello sled!). If the pain persists, I’ll wear elbow sleeves and, if necessary, modify exercises. I was already planning on using the Swiss bar for a change. The reverse-grip board press and weighted dips were tw1o movements that gave me no pain last year when my other elbow was at its worst.
Let myself rest and have a dietary cheat day on Saturday. I ended up going to the mall after a Costco run, had a terrible chicken sandwich at the food court Popeye’s, and then passed on trying something else out to instead go home and have a bunch of grass-fed steak instead. It felt like my craving for junk was destroyed after that sad little burger.
Hit squats on Sunday:
410 x 9
340 x 15
Reverse-hyper single leg extensions: 4 plates x 12
Reverse-hyper single leg curls: 4 plates x 3 x 15
I also worked out a superior way to do belt squats using my makeshift landmine apparatus instead of standing on two sets of stacked patio tiles like I’d previously been doing. This requires no more set-up than merely loading plates and because it affords a deeper ROM, I don’t need to use a preposterous amount of plates like before. I’m super excited for this.
Because I’d woken up early on Sunday, I had plenty of time to train more later that afternoon. Did 2 rounds on the heavy bag for 3 minutes each and then went on a 20 minute run.
Squats tend to be the culprit for this for me, primarily when I used a low bar set up. Might be something else sneaking up on you in that regard, because I know you’ve been crushing the squat workouts lately.
@T3hPwnisher I recall you going through that and yep, this has got to be it. I switched to the curved squat bar last year for this reason, but the elbow strain must still be an element. I actually squatted high bar most of my life but switched to low about 4 years ago.
Felt off and like I was on the verge of getting sick throughout last week. In particular, on Tuesday I felt off and once I was at boxing I found myself getting more tired than normal just from skipping rope and doing mitt work. Eventually caught a second wind and felt a lot better midway through class.
Thursday night ended up being more testing than a real good training session. Worked out how I want to set-up for my new way of doing belt squats, and I found my elbow was hurting from overhead pressing the axle so I switched to 100 lb dips for a couple sets of 10 and 8.
Did a short session for the posterior chain on Saturday. Since I already had 6 plates on the landmine for belt squats, I did Romanian deadlifts with that amount for 2 sets of 12, then SSB good morning with 150 and then 170 for 2 sets of 10.
Yesterday:
2-board press
315 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1
365 x 1
1-board press
315 x 3
Bench press
275 x 6
245 x 8
(Close-grip) 225 x 10
Lying dumbbell rows
115s x 5 x 12
Curl giant set
Lying dumbbell curls: 35s x 15
Preacher curls: 35s x 5
Standing hammer curls" 35s x 8
Experienced minor elbow pain on the work-up sets when unracking the bar. Put on a cloth Venum elbow sleeve I’d bought last year for the other elbow and then benched wider than normal. Pain went away.
Also want to note that I replaced my Costco extra strength fish oil that made me nauseous in the mornings with a bottle of Flameout and the amount of DHA isn’t even comparable. I’ll be sticking with Flameout from here on out.
I just have to mention that on Friday I was hitting the mitts with a coach and he remarked that I’ve been watching Mike Tyson videos in regards to my punching speed. The kind of comment I fantasize about in my head when going on runs but don’t expect to actually hear. Got to talking to him about the peek-a-boo style and that I’m not actively trying to imitate it, to which he said I could make it work.
Monday morning: 5 minutes of alternating between 10 burpees, 20 kettlebell swings, and 30 jumping-jacks
Back was pissed at me Monday at work and while it felt better by the time I got home, I decided to table heavy barbell squats until this Thursday. Did a quick workout of:
Belt squats
6 plates x 12
8 plates x 12
Finisher: 50 lb goblet squats x 10
Reverse hyper
1 plate x 12
2 plates x 2 x 12
Back felt MUCH better afterwards.
Tuesday boxing was mostly mitt-work with a partner, starting with 1-2-3 and then adding a slip and a 2-3 eventually, or later, 6-3-2. Feeling a little elbow pain when I throw hooks so that’s something to monitor.
Ended with lying on the floor and doing 50 neck raises off the ground and then 35 side-to-side. Woke-up to my upper-back and lower-neck area hurting on the left side, around the cervicus muscle. It’s the exact same injury as when I tweak that area pressing overhead and should be better in a few days. After boxing, I came home and went on a 30 minute jog.
Tyson display at my gym, complete with 2 skeleton minions. If this was Diablo, a barbarian necromancer would be just plain broken, but that describes prime Mike.
Dips
Bodyweight x 10
50 lbs x 10
100 lbs x 10, 10, 8
Super-set with chin-ups:
Bodyweight x 12, 12
50 lbs x 8 + 2 bw
50 lbs x 5 + 5 bw
Behind-the-neck axle press
70 lbs x 20
Super-set with bodyweight dips x 6
Axle curls
70 lbs x 20
Super-set with dumbbell hammer curls: 35s x 10
Reverse-hyper
2 plates x 2 x 15
No left elbow pain except when I tried to do dumbbell preacher curls; didn’t even bother completing that first rep. It’s wild to me that I can go heavy on dips just fine, but anything that remotely makes me strain while pressing overhead seems to hurt. I’m very happy being forced to do dips, though, and can still do high-rep pressing overhead. It’s also an opportunity to try all kinds of different presses and see if anything agrees: Z press, Bradford press, Klokov press, Swiss bar, Arnold press, etc.
Back is also feeling a lot better since Monday.
Adjusted my squat form tonight: narrower stance to go deeper and prevent hip pain, and a looser grip on the bar to prevent elbow strain. Worked-up to a smooth 410x8, burying each rep, and walked away due to the time. This way, I won’t be sore for boxing tomorrow, and I can squat heavy again on the weekend. It’s been a good week for healing and training pain-free!
Outstanding pivot! It’s so funny too: the old timers would play around with stances and grips ALL the time. With so little equipment, THAT was how you created variety. Now we just keep the same form and change around the bar instead. It’s good to go back to the roots.
Quality mate, just Quality
@T3hPwnisher Thanks man, and that’s such an interesting point. Something so simple it often gets overlooked.
@simo74 Thank you brother!
Had an all-around great weekend. Starting with Friday night boxing, we worked the heavy bag for the entire hour. The annoying thing is space; there aren’t enough standard bags for everyone so again I was on the uppercut bag, which made it impossible for me to throw body hooks when that was the drill. Threw uppercuts instead. Shoulders felt sore and it was actually a bit of a slog throwing punches in general, an opportunity to push through and throw hard shots anyway while pretending I was tired in a fight.
Saturday:
Squats
430 x 5
370 x 10
Single leg curls
4 plates x 10, 10
Ab work
Again, focusing on rep quality with a narrower stance and going below parallel. It’s funny how even though my numbers have dropped, I FEEL more powerful from how much more my quads are working compared to having my hips play a greater role with a wider stance. It’s an oddly more satisfying and fun way to squat.
I’m also not doing anything crazy; I certainly don’t have my heels close to touching each other and it’s a fairly standard width to squat with, but my stance was getting wider and wider once I started squatting in the 500s regularly.
Tried using the ab wheel but that thing’s going to have to be put aside until my elbow is back to normal. Did instead weighted decline crunches with a 50 lb kettlebell for 2 sets of 12 followed by a 1-minute plank.
Went to a small black metal show Saturday night, but because it was in a little dive bar, there was no moshing unfortunately. Had a huge meal before leaving and then Greek food afterwards (lamb gyro wrap and Greek salad).
Sunday:
Paused bench press
300 x 3 x 3
Bench press
275 x 6
Close-grip bench press
245 x 8
225 x 10
Bent-over dumbbell rows
125 x 3 x 8
Reverse hyper
2 plates x 2 x 12
Continuing to bench with a wider grip than I normally do: ring finger in the rings instead of pinkies. Small difference, but my elbow is liking this width and my chest has been getting sore from it.
Sumo deadlifts
565 x 2 (PR)
5-second pause deadlifts
365 x 3
Romanian deadlifts
365 x 10
Reverse hypers
2 plates x 2 x 15
Some weirdness that happened: my thumbs were digging into my quads when nearing the top of the sumos and I had trouble clearing them to lockout, although I was able to with some adjusting. May help to wear pants instead of shorts next time.
Feeling a little knee pain from standing in one spot too much at the office. That’s easy to remedy at the root cause, but will also feed it some leg extensions, backwards hill jogs, and tibialis raises to make it feel happy.
Been a little quiet mate, you good ?
