@T3hPwnisher Thanks dude, it’s surpassed lamb to be my favorite meat.
Boxing class yesterday:
3 rounds of shadowboxing consisting of splitting up two different combos with a slip
2 rounds of partner striking, taking turns throwing 1-2, slip, 2-3-2 with the defender blocking
2 rounds of the same but ending with 3-2-3 instead and adding rolls
4 rounds of the same combos but with one partner holding mitts and alternating roles
Ended with 1 long round on the heavy bag, alternating between speed and power work per coach’s callout
Uploaded this video comparing my shadowboxing from 2010 with no proper coaching vs 2024.
Hise shrugs
380 x 2 x 10 (done at the end of first and last squat set)
SSB front squats
240 x 10
Russian twists
45 x 10 for each direction
Whew, happy with this. Felt like a ton at this bodyweight but despite the awfulness, I forced a lot of explosiveness out of the bottom. Could have grinded out more reps with ugly form but experience told me it wasn’t worth risking my back.
Squatting narrower than I used to with this bar, which made it a surprise when I noticed my left hip was hurting when I lay down to sleep. Seems better the next day after a night of sleep. Lower back is VERY sore but not in an injurious way. Can still move and bend fine. Such a different feeling from last month’s back injury.
Weighed myself again in the afternoon. Despite drinking a lot of water throughout the heat today, I weighed 191.2! If that’s accurate, it’s amazing how much water I sweated out throughout the day. I’ve kept up my lunch break walks in the triple-digit weather.
If I break into the 180s, it’ll be the first time since my teens.
Paused bench press
305 x 2
275 x 4
Wide-grip bench
235 x 8, 7
Super-set with dumbbell rows
125 x 8, 8
Close-grip bench
245 x 6
225 x 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows
125 x 8, 8
Went to a very tough early Saturday morning boxing session, sweated a gallon, got on the scale without clothes after getting out of the shower out of curiosity, and weighed in at 187.5.
Hitting that teenage weight! We both did that this year, haha. As a meathead it seems weird, but think of how many dudes in their 30s are like 100lbs off that mark. Being able to stay that consistently fit is nuts
@T3hPwnisher Don’t think I didn’t notice that both of us accomplished that, haha. It’s definitely weird to see, but it’s a better-looking and stronger body at this weight than back then so, like you say, the scale doesn’t come close to telling all.
Mat pulls off a stack of 7 mats
500 x 1, 1 (mixed grip)
500 x 5 (straps)
Romanian deadlifts
225 x 2 x 10 + 10, 15 shrugs at the end
Belt squats
6 plates x 10
6 plates + girlfriend sitting on the plates x 10
Russian twists
25 x 20 each direction
Ab wheel
5 from floor + 5 standing
Figured out a positioning issue that’s been tripping me up. I’ve been standing too close to the bar with the bar pressed against my shins and it’s been causing my shoulders to start well in front of it, causing me to pitch forward. This is what injured me last month. This time I lined up the bar to my toe knuckles and was able to lean back with the bar as it broke off the ground. I remember learning this exact pointer and working to get it right after watching a Google Video Diesel Crew tutorial vid in the 2000s.
Despite that, I was mentally gunshy moving the weight at first from the injury. Went ahead and donned straps after 2 singles so I could get my head game focused on moving the weight, but I’m liking this recent trend of using grip power as much as possible up until the point that it’s holding me back.
Walked to the gym later. Did a 1-minute dead hang and then 10 minutes on the elliptical at max resistance (level 25 on this particular machine). Afterwards, I sat in the steam room but it didn’t seem to be working, checked-out the cold plunges and both were occupied, squeezed into the outdoor sauna for about 5 minutes, and then sat in the infrared sauna for another 5. Too crowded for my liking but I’m still learning what peak hours are on the weekend. Earlier in the day or close to closing might be better.
One-arm standing dumbbell press
80 x 4/3 (right hand, left hand)
50 x 12, 12, 15
Incline dumbbell skullcrushers
35s x 8, 10
Felt pain in my sternum on 155 that got worse on 175 so I shut it down, not that I had much left in me anyways as my pressing strength is way down. Hurt to breathe afterwards and couldn’t complete a chin-up when I tried. Found this very interesting. Used to experience pain like this early in my lifting days when I went heavy on weighted dips, but have never had it happen from overhead pressing. Gotta be something to do with not having barbell overhead pressed in a minute combined with a dramatically lower bodyweight.
The pain was intense at first and then dissipated after 10 minutes. Was able to do chin-ups fine after that and I have no pain the next day, thankfully.
In the realm of good news, my elbow pain was all but gone during everything, even the skullcrushers. I felt a little something on the 20th chin-up rep but that was it. Major improvement.
I’m gonna say that my weight is the more direct factor just because I’ve still pressed some big numbers in the past the day after tough Muay Thai and boxing sessions, but at a heavier bodyweight.
That probably rules out the boxing then. Only other thing I can think of is that sternum pain is sometimes doe to upper back issues, maybe slightly misaligned. I know you mentioned some issues with you back recently, have you seen and osteo for that ?
I haven’t been seen for my lower back yet, which has been feeling great since recovering from my injury and has held-up through safety bar squats and mat pull deadlifts since then. I will before the year ends just because of how many years I was previously living with pain and no insurance, but I’m not currently living with any chronic pain on a day-to-day basis anymore. The sternum pain is something I’ve experienced before that never lasts and doesn’t raise alarm bells for me. Like with weighted dips, I think I just need to get used to the mechanics of pressing a bar overhead again, particularly when it comes to supporting the bar on the top of my chest.
All good mate, talking through this stuff also helps me process and think about what is happening with my own body. Mostly it just makes me think I need another massage or osteo session. LOL
Worked on long combo strings with partners yesterday. The guy I was paired with had a handle on decent boxing form, but acted like he was half-asleep and ignored the combos we were supposed to throw even though we started out dead simple. I wonder if he came in stoned or something.
Woke-up this morning with some left hip pain, which was surprising because it’s been almost a week since I felt hip discomfort from SSB squats and it was gone the day after. There’s a good chance my nightly stretches have aggravated it. When I do dishes, I stretch my hips and hamstrings by sticking one leg up on the countertop and rolling the leg, something I learned from a Muay Thai coach online. I also held various split positions on the ground Monday night. Stretching my hips and hamstrings makes my back feel good, but all of the above has probably been adding up after that squat session.
Different boxing coach yesterday. I’ve seen him coaching sparring matches before. We donned chest protectors and took turns throwing partner combos. My partner seemed like he was putting everything he had in throwing hard shots but then had to stop and catch his breath after every combo. I wish people would just keep going when they gas and hit softer rather than stop the flow to gasp for air.
Afterwards, I stopped by the gym on the way home with a bag in my trunk packed with skull sandals (necessary detail) and swimshorts. Spent 10 minutes on the elliptical at a moderate intensity while watching the ending of Terminator 2 on the machine’s screen and then did a 1-minute dead hang before spending about 8 minutes in the sauna and 3 minutes in the cold plunge. Left due to time, not discomfort - the cold plunge was quite comfortable and not quite as cold as I was expecting, but good enough to have the intended effect. I could definitely make a chillier ice bath at hme, though.
Felt superb walking out. Had a big protein-rich dinner at home of 3 eggs in bone broth, whites, and pickle juice + a plate of veggies and rotisserie chicken and grass-fed steak strips. Metabolic Drive with egg whites about 30-minutes before bed.
I may quit the gym in the coming months. I’m paying the full mortgage now whereas before my dad and I were splitting it 50/50. It’s making things too tight for me. I’m enjoying my time there, but also feel like I’ve scratched the itch to some extent and wouldn’t miss it TOO much. I’ll evaluate after reviewing my written budget.
Swiss bar pause bench
250 x 4
235 x 2 x 5
Super-set with T-bar rows
4 plates x 8, 8, 10
Squatted high bar for the second time in 5 years. Whereas last time I couldn’t get a good feel for the positioning and kept the weight light, this time it just suddenly came back to me. Much easier on my shoulders and elbows and didn’t have to worry about the bar slipping from sweat.
I’ve been pausing my bench reps lately and going slower on the descent, as well. Just something I’ve drifted toward now that I’m no longer obsessing over my maxes. We did a lot of bodyweight squats and push-ups in boxing the day before so I was satisfied with what I put up in this workout.
Took a few physique shots to mark where my body composition is currently at.
Took Saturday completely off. Was feeling beat to hell after boxing on Friday. Not because the session was particularly hard, but I hadn’t slept well and training fatigue from the week felt like it had been accumulating. Also felt like my body was fighting off illness - throat was a little sore and chest felt inflamed. Intended to relax at night playing an online RPG but could barely keep my eyes open after dinner and crashed at 11pm. Slept in until 10 the next morning and got around to relaxing with some videogames and doing housework in a rare full rest day.
Sunday:
Mat pulls (deadlifts off a stack of 6 patio tiles, 1 less than last week)
500 x 5
Deadlifts
315 x 10
SSB squats
240 x 2 x 10
Hise shrugs
290 x 2 x 10
Reverse-hyper
200 x 2 x 10
Russian twists x 3 x 20
Ab wheel
10 standing reps
I’ve been doing more twisting ab exercises per Jamie Lewis’ recommendation that they’re good for back health. They help train punching power, too. My back has continued to feel excellent and I kept the supplemental exercises light to keep it that way.
Weighed 191.7 in the morning, about 4 lbs more than my dehydrated weight at the end of a hot day after boxing.
Knowing that my pressing power is down, I picked what I figured I can get for 5. I was right to go with 165, but the 5th was one helluva fight to get lockout. No belt or wraps, as I didn’t feel justified using them on weight this low. Also kept the tension on my shoulders more than I used to vs letting the bar deload on my chest to avoid the sternum pain I felt last week.
Recently developed an abscess on my upper-back, near the teres minor, that is tender to touch and resembles a spider bite. Going to take a picture and monitor its progress daily to make sure it’s not staph. As unlikely as that is at a boxing gym, my skin does come into contact with the floor when we do ab exercises so better safe than sorry.
Boxing was a way bigger class than normal for Tuesdays. After shadowboxing we partnered up and took turns throwing 1-2s, then 1-2-3s, then some other combos before repeating on the mitts. Partner commented that I have a “shitload of power”.
I have imposter syndrome going on when I hear comments like this because in my fickle mind, I’m usually larger and more muscular than whoever is complimenting me so of course I seem strong to THIS person; that’s the bare minimum of standards. One of my coaches said the same thing to me, though, and he’s a figure competitor with arms about as big or bigger than mine.
Ended with some footwork drills.
I really like that Tuesdays are so meticulous and technical despite going over the basics a lot. Fatigue is kept to a minimum with no calisthenics so we can concentrate on boxing. I do enjoy having the challenge of conditioning thrown in on other days but it’s good to have a technique day.
Been going 3 times a week and will increase that to 4 and 5 once sparring starts. I rarely, if ever, made it to Muay Thai 3 times a week when I trained that. Need to find the sparring paperwork I took home or ask for another if I can’t find it.
Went for a leisure swim when I got home to cool off from the heat and resisted an urge to eat some fried macaroni and cheese bites from Trader Joe’s after ingesting an edible and getting the munchies. Dinner was instead numerous small portions: a bison sausage, 2 eggs with some egg whites and bone broth, some grass-fed steak strips with a few mixed vegetables, and Metabolic Drive.
