KRAKATOA: PowPowPunishment's Daily Ventures of Destruction

Training Training Logs
324

Press
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 4
140 x 8, 8, 8, 9

Random sets of overhead shrugs at the end of most sets

Super-set with chin-ups
Bodyweight x 3 x 8
50 x 4 x 8

Skullcrushers
35s x 12
50s x 5 → drop-down to 35s x 4

Super-set with keg curls
160 x 20, 15

Done at the end of a very restorative weekend with family. Went go-karting for my niece’s birthday on Friday but badly felt like I needed to crash afterwards. Went home and fell in a coma for an hour and a half before heading to boxing. Made myself not touch a weight the next day and took another nap before a Costco trip amidst eating a lot of high calorie, carb-heavy food for my cheat day. Finally, by Sunday I felt alive again.

I also caught myself looking in the mirror on Friday, the end of a strict diet week, and thought I looked very skinny. At the end of Saturday after eating pizza all day, I looked big. Night and day difference.

Food and rest did me well. Got twice as many reps on 175 as last time when I was aiming for 3. Felt like I had power while pressing overhead again.

Also want to mention that I FINALLY got around to watching 2008’s Punisher: War Zone on Saturday night. Saw it in a VR movie theater with a Quest 2 headset. I loved the 2004 movie with Thomas Jane back in the day and have been meaning to see this one for years. Very fun watch but incredibly silly and left less of an impact than its predecessor.

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325

Monday:

Yukon bar squats
410 x 5
Strip-sets of 320 x 8, 230 x 8, 140 x 8

Romanian deadlifts
275 x 3 x 10

Barbell shrugs
275 x 2 x 10

Reverse-hyper
200 x 2 x 10

Russian twists
25 x 2 x 20

Hanging leg raises x 15

Climbing back up. Squatted a little wider in a deliberate move to boost my squat numbers for a few weeks. I’m really enjoying switching stances, bars, angles, and grip placement around. Not avoiding what I’m weak at, but occasionally going back to what I’m strong at so my body stays used to heavier weight.

After recently training with the safety squat bar, my back felt like iron and handled the deadlifts just fine after squats. Abs were really feeling it during the leg raises after the ab twists.

Tuesday:

Spent a looong time in traffic coming back to the office from a field visit and ended up leaving work 45 minutes late. Was annoyed on the road and my back was bothering me even with a lumbar cushion due to the rigid vehicle seats that don’t recline, but once I got back to the office I scarfed down a Dave’s Killer Bread sandwich with Nuttzo butter and the rest of my protein shake, which was just perfect enough for boxing 30 minutes later to feel neither hungry or too full. It all worked out.

Boxing was tough. Was very sore from those 2 intense lifting days, especially traps, shoulders, and legs. Body and conditioning held-up, though. Even with sore legs, I had the stamina to move well in the ring as long as I didn’t talk myself into being weak. Threw hard combos at the mitts and body shield, finishing-up with bag work that alternated between speed and power depending on the coach’s callout. Shoulders and legs felt like lead when I walked out. Took a bath at home and played Metal Gear Solid afterwards. Was craving carbs, but stuck to a dinner of chicken, steak, and stir-fry vegetables, with the usual Metabolic Drive before bed.

Plan on making today a rest day. Haven’t decided if I feel like going on a jog or not, but walking and stretching will definitely happen.

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326

Friday boxing was almost all calisthenics after the usual rounds of skipping rope and shadowboxing. Alternated between many rounds of medicine ball burpees, plyo push-ups, and dumbbell lateral holds. My shoulders are STILL sore today from that. I’ll always prefer classes where I actually learn how to box, but I think it’s good for me to suffer through something I don’t want to do and I signed up for the same Friday class this week, along with 2 other technique days. Ended the class doing bagwork, which is always a good challenge to push through after exhausting the muscles.

Saturday was a rest day. Went out for a bomb Italian restaurant dinner.

Sunday:

Mat pulls (5)
500 x 5

Walked to the gym immediately after:

Leg press
4, 5, 6, 7 plates x 10

Lying leg curls
130 x 3 x 10

Leg extension
130 x 12
200 x 10

Hanging leg raises
2 x 10

Cable ab twists x 20

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327

Friday boxing was almost all calisthenics after the usual rounds of skipping rope and shadowboxing. Alternated between many rounds of medicine ball burpees, plyo push-ups, and dumbbell lateral holds. My shoulders are STILL sore today from that. I’ll always prefer classes where I actually learn how to box, but I think it’s good for me to suffer through something I don’t want to do and I signed up for the same Friday class this week, along with 2 other technique days. Ended the class doing bagwork, which is always a good challenge to push through after exhausting the muscles.

Saturday was a rest day. Went out for a bomb Italian restaurant dinner.

Sunday:

Mat pulls (5)
500 x 5

Walked to the gym immediately after:

Leg press
4, 5, 6, 7 plates x 10

Lying leg curls
130 x 3 x 10

Leg extension
130 x 12
200 x 10

Hanging leg raises
2 x 10

Cable ab twists x 20

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328

What did you have bro?

329

Lobster and squid ink pasta (the Italian name sounded a lot better) and tiramisu. Hopefully it all went to my incredibly sore shoulders like synthol.

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330

Wow that sure is……

Bizarre

Lololol

Glad you enjoyed your food dude

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Now all I can think about is Tiramisu and it is 8 in the morning. thanks Bro. :rofl:

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that looks awesome, somehow the chicken leg quarters I’ve got in front of me now aren’t so appealing.

Agreed but having tried and liked squid ink gin I’d give squid ink pasta a go

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334

Training looks more like kapow. Keep it up.

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335

@tlgains Hah. It tastes like fishy pasta, which I find delicious but is definitely not for a non-seafood lover.

@simo74 No apologies from me!

@aholding88 Staying on-course with a diet makes meals like this taste all the better. I actually crave lean protein and veggies when I’m at the tail end of a free-eating day where I’ve dined out.

@bigpappafrance Thank you! It feels good to be pulling heavy again.

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336

Monday:

Paused 2-board press
315 x 3, 3

Close-grip incline bench
175 x 9, 8, 8, 9

Weighted wide-grip pull-ups
50 x 4 x 8

Keg curls
160 x 20

Dumbbell curls
35s x 10

Opted for board pressing because my shoulders were still sore on Monday from Friday’s class.

Went to boxing Tuesday and Wednesday. Got to work 1-on-1 with the coach on Tuesday, taking turns throwing combos and blocking or slipping. Wednesday was a HUGE class but few people want to go in the boxing ring for some reason despite the coach’s urging, so I was able to spend most of my time in there with reasonable space. Did a lot of partner shadowboxing with different people, which I love doing in the absence of real sparring (more on that later…). Ended with bag work, hitting the shield by coming forward with 1-2s and then retreating with 1-3s, and then medicine ball conditioning. Shoulders are wrecked.

Lost my paperwork to sign-up for sparring so I got a new set on the way out. Requires a doctor’s sign-off, which I’ve been dragging my feet over, but I want to make it happen finally.

Stopped by the gym on the way home and did a 39-second dead hang for my shoulders. The gym pull-up bars are covered in very slick rubber. It’s comfortable and soft on the hands but harder to grip than metal. I appreciate the grip challenge. Afterwards, took a brief shower and sat in the cold plunge for 3 minutes and then the sauna for 8. Went in the steam room on my walk back to the locker room and some jackass sitting behind me broke the silence by shouting “HEY!” several times which made his 2 buddies laugh. Then he got down and started loudly telling a little kid behind the glass door that he needs his dad to come in with him. He then announced to his friends that he was hitting the cold plunge, so I’m glad I missed him there. Great experience overall though. Walked out feeling refreshed.

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337

Got set-up to squat yesterday after work, felt like I had no energy just moving the empty bar, and made the call to rest and wake-up early in the morning to lift instead, giving me a full rest day followed by a lifting and boxing day. Absolutely the right call. Got to go to bed early and woke-up an hour before my normal alarm to eat a light morning snack of a mini hummus cup, half an RX bar (they’re small so this was literally one bite), the rest of my Metabolic Drive shake from the night before, and some coffee before training 10 minutes later.

High-bar squats
315 x 15

Incline bench press
185 x 3 x 6

Lying dumbbell rows
80s x 3 x 10

Axle curls
30 x 50

Including the warm-up sets for my knees and back, got this done in 40 minutes. Left a couple reps in the tank on squats and bench, knowing I’ll be killing myself with bodyweight exercises in boxing today. Light weight on the rows really allowed me to get an extreme squeeze at the top and the ROM almost resembled a lateral raise.

Felt AWESOME to lift before work and head to the office after getting that done. Going to see if this positively impacts my recovery and make it more common if it does.

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338

Press
185 x 3
145 x 3 x 8
8 overhead shrugs at the last press rep of every set.

Behind-the-neck press
115 x 6, 6

Chin-ups
Bodyweight x 10
50 x 4 x 8

Dumbbell skullcrushers
50s x 5 → drop-down to 35s x 6
35s x 9

Axle preacher curls
70 x 2 x 10

Keg curls
160 x 15

39-second chin-up

Biceps were fried; no way was a 1-minute chin-up happening. Pleased that my press is rebounding. I’ve put 10 lbs on it in a month while my bodyweight has remained steady in the low 190s.

Chin-ups and preacher curls were quite uncomfortable on the elbow this time. It’d be a good idea to do this workout at the gym so I can do some really heavy machine rows without aggravating the elbow.

Had a fairly standard Friday boxing session with the usual rounds of calisthenics and bag work. We don’t usually work with partners on Fridays, but this time we partnered up to practice what the coach thought were shovel hooks. I really like this coach on a personal level but occasionally he ponders out loud what he’s teaching and admits he’s not sure and to ask another coach. He did that with shovel hooks this time while showing what was a straight to the body but with the wrist kept sideways and the thumb facing up (I.e. not rotating the fist).

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339

sounds like you did just enough. Quality

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340

Worked the heavy bag at home for 3 minutes across 3 rounds on Monday, then had a friend who I was letting use my gym throw punches at me while I could only defend for 2 rounds of 2 minutes. Wanted to go on a run afterwards but opted to start winding down for bed to get a lot of sleep.

Yesterday:

Yukon bar squats
420 x 3
Drop-down to 370 x 5, 320 x 8, 230 x 8, 140 x 8

20 Russian twists

Ab wheel
5 lying + 5 standing
5 standing

420 felt heavier than I expected. Was aiming for 5 but was content with 3. Had some difficulty with the low-bar placement today. I started by experimenting with high bar in the work-up sets but with this curved bar, it wasn’t happening by 320. Switching mid-workout and finding the positioning was surprisingly tricky.

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Really fun boxing class yesterday. Partnered-up with the tallest guy in class again and it’s just blatant how we always pick each other now. Took turns throwing simple combos and defending. Got to practice actual shovel hooks this time by drilling a 6 to the body, 5 to the body, and ending with a 3 that we ducked under. The hook to the body followed by the head shot on the same side always makes me think of Tyson. This guy doesn’t have the best cardio and tends to slow down, but I appreciate that he never stops the action and keeps pushing.

Because I’m usually facing against guys smaller than me, staying close to this partner while throwing to the body made me think holy shit, there’s so much target for me to hit if this were a fight. Not a feeling I’m used to. I just need to find a big guy who also moves fast.

We ended doing some P.E.-style team races. Formed 2 lines outside and bear crawled, side shuffled, and sprinted against the other team’s opponent. I exploded out of the gate bear crawling and my abs suddenly got attacked by a massive cramping episode from the squats and ab work I did yesterday, which made me lose the round. Won the rest of the rounds without incident or trouble. I was WAY ahead of my opponent during the sprint, which I’ve always been good at. I’m built like a cheetah but trying to be a lion.

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342

Incline bench press
190 x 8, 8, 8, 7

Super-set with lying dumbbell rows
115s x 8, 8, 8, 8

Reverse hyper
200 x 8, 10, 15

1-minute chin-up

Was originally going to combine hamstring work into this via Romanian deadlifts, but I felt very low-energy. Decided to post-pone pulls and do heavy deadlifts on Saturday.

Despite feeling sluggish, benching felt light. My pressing strength is going up while I’m maintaining a low bodyweight. Been off creatine for a month, too, although I never notice a difference on or off it.

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343

Having a great weekend so far and am taking time to record on the same day rather than catch-up at work on Monday.

Mat pulls (deadlifts off of stack of 4 mats)
500 x 5

Romanian deadlifts
315 x 8, 8
225 x 10 + 10 shrugs

Barbell shrugs
225 x 2 x 15

Belt squats
6 plates + human x 3 x 12
Notes: Had my girlfriend sit on the plates for this one. Very reminiscent of old-school donkey calf raises with people sitting on Arnold’s back.

Weighted decline twist crunches
25 x 20
50 x 20

Today’s my diet break day. Going to stuff myself all day and likely go on a hike soon.

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344

Went on a hike Saturday and scouted out a good camping spot. Booked the location for October.

2-board press
315 x 1
335 x 1
350 x 1

Seated overhead dumbbell press
80s x 6, 8, 7, 7
Super-set with T-bar rows and weighted chin-ups
Rows: 5 plates x 8, 8, 8
Weighted chin-ups: 50 x 8

Dumbbell skullcrushers: 50s x 7, 8
Super-set with alternating dumbbell curls: 50s x 20, 20

Wasn’t expecting 350 to feel so light even with a board press, but the bar absolutely shot up. Last weekend I grinded out 315x3, although that was paused and this was touch-and-go.

I also boxed less during the last week and I think the results of that were clear on this day, but I’m back to the boxing gym 3 days this week.

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