That’s some nice work, my dude! Congratulations.
2 Likes
Appreciate it dude. I don’t feel like I lost enough but my wife said I look much different and younger lol
4 Likes
Winning for sure!
1 Like
09MAR26
Push
Barbell Bench - 90x15 95x12 100x10 105x10
Shoulder Press - 75x10 80x8 85x8
Incline Machine - 70x10 80x10 90x10 (new machine felt easy, will up weight more)
Seated Lat raise - 25x12 30x10 35x8
Machine fly - 130x15 145x10 155x10
Dips - 4 sets of 10
Tri Pushdown - 60x10 65x10 70x10
30 min incline walk
PM
40lb ruck for 30min
First workout on dry land. Felt awesome, hated waking up at 0430 to make it on time though.
7 Likes
Pull up - 5 sets of 5
Single Arm Row - 85x10 90x10 95x8 100x6
Cable Row - 160x10 180x10 200x8
Back Extensions - 4 sets of 10
Reverse Grip Lat Pull - 70x10 80x10 90x9 (started too light)
Face Pull - 70x10 75x10 80x10
Cable Curl - 25x10 30x10 35x10
Hammer Curls - 25x10 30x10 35x10
Got to the gym this late this morning so I ran out of time for cardio. Waking up at 0430 is for the birds.
PM
37 min ruck while my son rode his bike.
9 Likes
11MAR26
Legs
Hack Squat - 180x12 270x10 320x8 360x8 365x6
First time hacking in over a year, forgot how awesome these are. i wish my ship had it
Split Squat - 80x10 80x9 80x8
RDL - 155x10 185x10 205x8
Goblet Squat - 85x10 90x10 95x8
Leg Press - 518x10 518x10 518x10
Leg Curl - 35x10 40x10 45x10
Leg Extensions - 130x10 140x10 150x10
30 min walk with family
Today felt awesome and difficult. As I write this the morning after my glutes/quads are absolutely fried. Still don’t feel like my hamstrings are being stimulated correctly so I’ll have to figure that out, any advice?
7 Likes
Good Job! 
1 Like
Solid workout! Those hack squat numbers are impressive for a first time back in over a year—360-365 for 8/6 is strong, especially after a long break. The leg press at 518×10×3 shows some serious quad endurance too, and it’s cool you capped it with a family walk. Feeling fried in glutes/quads the next day is a great sign of solid stimulus there.
On the hamstrings not firing properly—that’s a common issue, even with good moves like RDLs and leg curls in the mix. Often it’s form tweaks, mind-muscle connection, or quads/glutes dominating the movement. Here are some practical tips to help you start feeling them more (especially in those RDLs at 205×8, which is a decent load but might be letting other muscles take over):
For Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs):
- Prioritize the hip hinge and stretch — Push your hips way back like you’re closing a car door with your butt, keep a slight knee bend (but not a squat), and really feel the stretch in your hamstrings at the bottom. Lower slowly to emphasize that eccentric stretch. If you’re not feeling it deep enough, try dropping the weight a bit (e.g., back to 185 or lower) temporarily to nail the feeling before progressing again.
- Toe elevation — Stand with your toes on small plates or a wedge (even 1-2 inches). This increases dorsiflexion and shifts more load to the hamstrings vs. glutes/low back.
- Cue “scrape the gum” — As you hinge down and drive up, imagine scraping gum off the bottom of your shoes by pushing your feet down and back. This helps initiate from the hamstrings.
- Pre-exhaust them — Try flipping the order: do your leg curls first to fatigue the hams, then hit RDLs. Pre-fatigued hams have to work harder in the hinge, and you’ll often feel them way more.
- Mind-muscle focus — Actively think about “pulling” with your hamstrings on the way up, not just standing up with your back/glutes.
For Leg Curls:
- Slow eccentrics and full range — Lower the weight slowly (3-4 seconds) to maximize the stretch at the bottom, and squeeze hard at the top contraction. Avoid swinging or momentum.
- Try seated vs. lying — If your gym has a seated leg curl, give it a shot—some research shows it hits hamstrings (especially the lower portion) better for growth than lying curls.
- Pause at the top — Hold the contraction for 1-2 seconds to really “feel” the hams working.
- Variations — If possible, experiment with single-leg curls or Nordic curl progressions for better isolation.
Overall, hamstrings are sneaky—sometimes they get overshadowed by stronger quads/glutes, especially if you’ve been quad-dominant in other moves (hack squats, leg press, goblet squats). Pre-activating with curls, lightening RDL load for better connection, and cueing the stretch/hinge should help a ton. Give one or two of these a try next leg day and see if the “feel” clicks.
Keep crushing it—sounds like you’re back in the groove! How long has it been since the hams felt properly smoked?
1 Like
12MAR26
Push
Dumbbell Bench - 95x15 100x12 105x10 110x10
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 75x12 80x10 85x8
Machine Incline - 90x10 115x8 135x7.5
Lat Raise - 25x12 30x10 35x8
Low Pully Fly - 20x10 25x10 30x8
should have started heavier, but I haven’t done these for awhile
Weighted Dips - 25x10 35x9 45x10 BWx8
Tricep Pushdown - 60x12 72.5x9 80x8
Felt great at the gym today. Taking tomorrow off to run around and get ready for this upcoming deployment just incase schedules get accelerated.
How long has it been since the hams felt properly smoked?
That’s a great question and now that I’m thinking about it, I haven’t really felt like I’ve done enough since my last deployment like April 2024. Then I was doing seated leg curls, standing leg curls, and RDL on the same day. Thank you for the advice on the RDLs I’m going to follow that ASAP.
4 Likes
14MAR26
Went for a 3 miles point to point land nav course wearing a 25lb ruck. Rough.
4 Likes
16FEB26
Got some fun news today that I can’t really go into due to OPSEC. However my plans are shifting quickly lol.
02FEB26 Starting Weight: 281
Current Weight: 270
So I’m down 12lbs which is rad. I think once deployment starts I’ll continue my current lifting/cardio plan for a bit but include more calories and intensity. I’ve bought Redcon MRE that I’ll treat like a 4th meal which should put me at a moderate surplus around 3500 calories (which is hard on the ship) and I’ll do that for a 2-3 months then start trying to cut for the remainder of my time out there.
My goal for deployment is to get more shredded than I did for the 2024 Transformation win and hopefully put on 5-10lbs of lean mass and to get some semblance of my athleticism back. So I’ll continue lifting, stretching, cardio, and logging.
8 Likes
17MAR26
Push
Dumbbell Bench - 95x15 100x12 105x10 110x8
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 75x12 80x10 85x8
Machine Incline - 90x10 115x8 135x7.5
Lat Raise - 25x12 30x10 35x8
Low Pully Fly - 20x10 25x10 30x8
Weighted Dips - 25x10 35x9 45x10 BWx8
Tricep Pushdown - 60x12 72.5x9 80x8
Took the wife to lift with me today. Great lift. Pull tomorrow.
9 Likes
I was using a hack squat to warm up my quads the other night and I don’t know why I have ignored it for so many years
Barbell superiority complex probably
2 Likes
Happy cake day and good luck!
1 Like
Thanks dude!
1 Like
I’m taking a week and a half off from the gym to focus on family before I leave. Once I start lifting on the ship I’ll post again with a “Day 1 Lost At Sea” just like last time. 
5 Likes
All supplements for deployment are in hand.
protein x3
meal replacement x2
creatine x3
preworkout x3
vitamin c - 3 months
vitamin b12 - 3 months
vitamin d- 3 months
ashwagandha - 3 months
fish oil - 3 months
milk thistle - 3 months
zinc - 3 months
magnesium - 3 months
hydration packs - 2 months
Hopefully mail is normal for getting to the ship so I can stay on top of these while I’m gone.
Any suggestions??
6 Likes
Day 5 at sea
Push
Dumbbell bench - 90x12 95x12 100x12 100x9
Shoulder Press - 70x10 75x8 80x8
Incline Machine - 70x10 85x10 85x8
Lat Raise - 25x10 30x10 35x8
Bent Rear Lat Raise - 20x10 25x10 30x10
Machine Fly - 170x10 190x10 210x9
Weighted Dips - 25x10 35x10 45x8
Tri Pushdown - 60x10 65x10 70x10
Cardio - 30 min incline walk
PM
30 min incline walk
Connectivity is awful out here. I’ll try to keep up with posting when I can.
8 Likes
Day 6 at sea
Pull
Pull up - 4 sets of 6
Deadlift - 135x10 185x10 205x10
start going up next week
Single Arm Row - 85x10 90x10 95x10 100x8
Banded Back Extension - 4 sets of 10 with 50lb band
Lat Pull - 90x10 100x8 110x6
Curls for the girls - 25x10 30x8 35x6.5
Hammer Curls - 30x10 35x8 40x6
30 min incline walk
PM
30 min incline walk
Feeling great so far. Getting a little tired on cardio as I try to figure my diet out with the provided chow. Gonna be an interesting deployment with the current geopolitical climate. Oh well, I’ll keep lifting!
4 Likes