At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 8
Tried doing something close to chest to bar pull-ups on the first set, tiring myself out quite a bit more and making the later sets feel harder.
3x18 EMOM push-up
I think this felt even better than last week too. Maybe I’m slowly recovering from whatever.
4x5 straight leg sit-ups
Later-
OHP- 65/85/105lbx5, 115lbx9
I initially thought about doing 125lb but the 105lb felt a bit harder than expected, so I went with 115lb. I half-heartedly attempted a tenth rep that failed. Pretty good effort though. I think mixing things up like this is helping the press improve faster.
Bench press-
115lbx5, 155lb, 4x6
60 second rests for the first two sets, 90 second for the next two because the second set felt a bit slow. I think I made the right choice- set 3 and 4 felt fast except for their respective last reps.
Utter failure of -ups- 3x8
Form is garbage and 3x8 was way too much. I still accomplished my goals- upper abs felt very sore.
BB row- 95lb, 2x10, 1x5
Didn’t feel that good.
Juarez Valley thrusters with 75lb and jumping burpees-10/1/9/2/8/3/7/4/6/5
Done in ~10:39
Armor-building complex with 45lb BB- 5/6/5/5/6 EMOM
I believe I did 6 reps on set 2 based on the time remaining. I intentionally did 6 on the last set because this didn’t wreck me and I knew I could do it.
Today-
Just did Recon Ron pullup program week 8 and 50 push-ups. The 50 push-ups felt harder than the last I did it but easier than the ones I did earlier in the year. Reasonably pleased that I can do these.
I am at my parent’s house today and probably tomorrow, so I won’t be able to get my normal barbell training in. I’ll try to do a tabata burpee session later today.
Edit-
Got the tabata burpees in. Did 8 reps straight. It felt pretty tiring.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 8
These feel harder when I do them on the power tower at my parent’s house. I think it’s because I’m forced to use a narrower grip than I normally do.
3x18 push-up. Not EMOM; counted a minute between each set. Felt ok.
OHP-
75lbx5, 95lb, 5x5
Short pause at top and bottom. Felt a little light-headed whenever I tried holding my breath. These pauses really make presses feel more difficult.
Standing ab-wheel-
4x6
I did these on yoga mats because I noticed that they made some sort of mark on my floor. These felt hard- my abs hurt and lots of bodyparts felt strain.
Bent knee inverted row- 3x8 EMOM
Felt some strain on the last set.
Bear complex- 10x3 EMOM with 95lb.
I began to run out of steam after the 7th round. I couldn’t do the movements fluidly and I started feeling really out of breath.
In the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 8
5x5 leg down sit-ups
10 rounds of-
5 chin-up
10 push-up
10 lunges (Forward lunge on odd and reverse lunge on even)
with 20lb in my backpack.
Took ~26:34. First 5 rounds took ~12:30, next 5 rounds took ~14:03
90 second rests. I’ve been getting less sleep and driving more often due to life events, so that may contribute to this. Didn’t feel as tiring until the last set, which makes sense since this took longer.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 9
This is now seemingly feeling easier with each passing week. Wow.
5x10 EMOM hand-release push-up
Maybe I should try following the Recon Ron template for the hand release push-ups too.
5x5 straight-leg sit-ups
Felt better today; less body english.
Later-
Back squat-
135/165/185/205/225lbx5, 245lbx6
Right knee felt odd and painful again. In fact, I felt it being painful and tight when I slept. This is a sure sign that it’s injured. I’m betting it’s the yoga. I realized that I set my stance too narrow when I unracked 245lb but just went with it. Felt like I required quite a bit less effort than last week, so maybe the narrower stance is a good thing! Or I just got stronger in the meantime since all the other sets felt a lot better today.
Deadlift-
205lbx5, 255lb, 3x7, 1x4
TnG with straps. The last set of 7 felt tiring.
Hanging leg raise (to parallel)- 3x8
Bent knee inverted row- 3x8 EMOM
Amor-building complex with 45lb BB- 5x5 EMOM
I have to go meet someone right now, so I didn’t want to risk the chance of blowing myself up like last week. I think it was a right call- this feels so much harder when it’s done at the end of a session vs done alone and today felt pretty freaking hard.
Recon Ron pull-up program week 9
Hand release push-up done with Recon Ron rep scheme week 1
Trying it out.
Later-
OHP- 65/85/105/125lbx5
The 125lb set felt pretty hard.
Bench press-
115lbx5, 155lb, 4x6
60 second rests between all the sets. Felt good.
Utter failure of V-ups- 4x6
Form did feel better this time and I had more control.
Bent knee inverted row- 3x8 EMOM
Tabata KB swing with body squats in the 10 second rests.
Felt tired so I went with an easier conditioning work. Didn’t feel hard until set 5.
Didn’t do anything on Weds. I decided that I’d rather get more sleep by traveling to my parent’s house to go to work early on Weds, but due to personal life stuff I’m probably always going to get home super late, leaving no time to do a workout. It’s ok, I’m just going to treat Weds as a rest day now and do more on Sunday. I will need to figure out a way to eat a lot more on Weds though, since I’m undereating quite a bit. OR I can just eat more on the other days and treat Weds as a bit of a break.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 9
Today felt hard.
Hand release push-up done with Recon Ron rep scheme week 1
5x5 straight-leg sit-ups
Later-
Deadlift- 135/195/225/255lbx5, 285lbx8
TnG with straps. Used straps from 255lb onwards. Grip felt strong on the 225lb, which is great news- clear sign of grip improving. Grip started to go a bit on the 285lb but the reps felt good. I felt a little tweak in my left foot as I walked the barbell into the spotter arms. Never felt this before, so something to remember.
Back squat- 165lbx5, 215lb, 4x6
Felt slightly better than when I did the 215lb 5x5 two weeks ago. This still feels pretty challenging near the end though.
Hanging scissor kicks- 3x8
Bent knee inverted row- 3x8 EMOM
10 rounds of-
10 KB swing
10 jumping burpees
Done in ~9:56
I felt compelled to collapse onto the floor after I finished this. Willed myself to go into the house, wash my hands, THEN collapse onto the floor. Man this felt really tough today. Started to feel really challenging after the 7th round.
Woke up feeling quite hungry. Haven’t felt hungry like this since I added the carbs a couple of weeks ago.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 9
Felt normal today. I think the less eating on Weds is what’s doing it.
Hand release push-up done with Recon Ron rep scheme week 9
For ease of following I’m going to tie the hand release push-ups to the pull-ups.
5x5 straight leg sit-ups
Later-
Bench press- 105/125/145lbx5, 165lb, 1x5, 1x4
~ minute rest between 165lb sets. I ran out of steam by the fifth rep but I wanted more reps. I noticed a bit of pec soreness/tiredness on the first set. That’s new and I think it’s a good thing.
~10 min break for phone call.
OHP- 75lbx5, 105lb, 3x8
90 second rest for the last set. I needed the extra rest- the last set felt tough. Solid sets overall.
Kneeling ab-wheel- 1x25
Had to pause after the 21th rep.
Bent knee inverted row- 3x8 EMOM
This feels a lot better.
Bear complex- 5x3 EMOM with 95lb.
~15 min break for phone call
Bear complex- 5x3 EMOM with 95lb.
The second go at the complex felt a lot harder. Evidently 15 minutes is not enough rest to fully recover. Makes me wonder if I could have finished all 10x3 today.
5 rounds of-
7 chin-up
14 push-up
20 squat
with 20lb in my backpack.
Took ~18:23
Began feeling muscle fatigue from the third set and felt visible strain on the last set of chin-up and push-ups.
Tabata armor-building complex with 45lb
I had no idea what would be good reps for this so I started with 2. That felt too easy so I did 3s until I reached set 5 or so, when I no longer managed to finish all three reps within the time. This is definitely different from doing these EMOM.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 9
Felt even better until the last set. I’m really pleased with this program so far. 10 weeks in starting from tomorrow and I feel like I’m not even close to stopping. The hard set keeps feeling fine and I can always just rest a bit longer if needed.
Hand release push-up done with Recon Ron rep scheme week 9
5x5 straight leg sit-ups
A bit later-
Armor-building complex with 65lb BB- 4x4, 1x5 EMOM
Today felt harder everywhere compared to last week. I drove well over 4 hours yesterday so I attribute it to that.
Skipping yoga stuff. Knee is not better and I want to see if not doing yoga for a couple of weeks helps it.
This brings up an issue that I need to somehow address eventually though- I think yoga is great for general mobility and want to keep doing it. But if even just a short 20-30 min session a week causes my knee to go bad then how do I do it? Maybe even shorter sessions to build up whatever weakness is in the knees?
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 10
First set felt fine. Second set felt hard. The last set felt hard.
1x19/20/19 push-up
I forgot that I was supposed to do 3x19. Felt fine. Whatever push-up fatigue I had seems to be gone.
5x5 straight-leg sit-ups
Later-
Back squat-
135/155/185/215lbx5, 245lbx7
Opps. Forgot that I wanted to move up in 20lb increments. No wonder the bar felt heavier than normal on the back.
Knee feels painful but not on the level of ‘day after yoga’ painful.
245lb felt like a struggle on the 6th and 7th rep. Took a lot of effort. Great set.
Power clean-
95lb, 5x5
Trying this out for a bit. Felt pretty effortless.
Toe to bar- 4x6
Bent knee inverted row- 3x9 EMOM
Amor-building complex with 45lb BB- 3x5, 2x6 EMOM
Didn’t feel as difficult as last week. Almost certainly because I didn’t tire myself out with deadlifts.
A bit later-
OHP- 75/95/115lbx5, 125lbx6
Last rep of 125lb felt real tough on the upper back.
Bench press-
135lbx5, 155lb, 3x7, 1x4
Had to rest for like 12-15 seconds after the 5th rep of set 2. I took 2 minute rest for the third set and it went fine. 90 second rest for the fourth set and that felt ok too.
V-ups- 4x6
These actually sorta look like v-ups now.
Pendlay row- 135lb, 3x8
Easy.
Juarez Valley front squats with 115lb
Done in ~9:18
This felt pretty tough on the legs.
Got really bad sleep today, so I’m pretty happy with today.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 10
Recon Ron pull-up program week 10 with hand-release push-ups
5x5 straight-leg sit-ups
Later-
Power clean- 95/115/135/145lbx5
Felt ok. The power cleans didn’t feel difficult but I’m not used to the heavier weights. Cool that I can do 145lbx5 without doing anything above 95lb for a while though. I’m not catching the bar at all right now. I’m just bringing them straight up onto my shoulders.
Back squat- 165lbx5, 215lb, 3x7, 1x4
Didn’t feel powerful today but I got through them.
Hanging scissor kicks- 3x8
Bent knee inverted row- 3x9 EMOM
Kalsu WOD with 45lb-
Finished on the 13th set. I think I did something like this-
10/10/10/10/6/4/10/10/5/5/5/5/10
This felt ridiculously hard.
Saturday-
20x5 chin-up
20x5 dip
Did them roughly every minute or so while playing with the family dog in the backyard. Felt easy until set 12ish. Began to feel difficult from set 16-17.
Today-
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 11
The first set felt hard.
Recon Ron pull-up program week 11 hand-release push-up
Later-
Back squat-
135/165/195/225lbx5, 245lbx10
I did the sets up to 225lb as no lock-out. Rep 8-10 of 245lb felt a bit rough. Core felt pretty tired out and my entire lower body felt it afterwards.
Power clean-
95lb, 3x8
Grip felt tired on rep 6-8 of each set. Needed to put the bar down for a bit on the last set.
Hanging leg raise (to parallel)- 2x10, 1x5
Bent knee inverted row- 3x10 EMOM
Amor-building complex with 5lb BB- 5x5 EMOM
Failed to complete the last set within the minute. Upper body felt pretty tired.
Personal life keeps causing me to undereat. I don’t see an overt impact on lifting yet.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 11
2x20, 1x10 push-up
Later-
Power clean- 95/115/135/145lbx5
Felt quite a bit better than last set. I have more control over the bar on the 135/145lb sets.
Back squat- 155lbx5, 215lb, 3x8
90 second rests for the 215lb sets. The first set felt slow but the next two sets felt fast. Consistently felt a lot of pressure by the 8th rep; pretty sure I couldn’t do more. My right knee didn’t feel good. I can hear things grinding during the reps and it feels odd. It feels fine when I’m not squatting though. Right now it feels a tiny bit painful though. Not good.
Toe to bar- 5x5
Inverted row- 6x4
Tabata jumping burpee
Got 8 reps across all 8 sets and felt ‘comfortable’ hitting that until the last set. This feels way easier than it used to. Right knee felt a bit painful during the jumps.
I wanted to do the KB swing and jumping burpee superset but a phone call sapped my mental energy.
At some point in the morning-
Recon Ron pull-up program week 11
This is now officially feeling hard. I’m sure the poor sleep and not great diet has something to do with it, but 13 pull-ups is still getting into the ‘difficult’ territory.
1x25, 1x15, 1x10 push-up
Later-
Bench press- 95/115/135lbx5, 155lbx6
Short pause at bottom. Pretty much hit the chest and kept the bar there for a bit.
OHP- 75lbx5, 95lbx3, 115lb, 5x5
90 second rests. These felt difficult and like solid working sets.
Standing ab-wheel- 4x6
Abs felt pretty sore!
BB row- 135lbx5, 165lb, 4x6
Used straps for the 165lb, which made it feel so much easier. Grip width is a little off due to the straps and I think that made this feel a little weird. Overall easy sets though.
35 sets of bear complex with 45lb. Started a 10 min clock and ended at 3:26.
Just tried finishing it as quickly as possible. Took breaks at (I think) set 14/22/29.
Right knee is angry and in pain, so I went with the smallest load possible just to get it moving.