06/22/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER W2D1
Squats
135 x 10
225 x 5
275 x 5
Deadlifts
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
355 x 10 x 10
These were very unpleasant. Lower back, glutes and hamstrings…exhausted. Not really nearing any sort of failure, but just a real ass kicker.
DB Reverse Lunges
50lb x 10
50 x 10
50 x 10
Thanks for the suggestions, the reverse lunges felt much more comfortable. I actually got a decent quad pump from these.
Situps
20
20
20
Strong as always and more volume that I care to think about. Nice.
Hows summer up there mate ? Hows the family and the new house ?
Hey Simo, thanks for checking in. This phase of training has been a ton more volume than my average/typical program, it is pretty awful, haha.
Our spring/summer has been pretty great so far, thanks. We could use some more rain, it has been very dry (complete outdoor fire ban and not a lot of green left in the grass).
I’m having a landscaping contractor come to our property at the beginning of July to finish a bunch of work (hardscaping for our walkout basement with stone that we dug out for our basement, driveway, garden, topsoil, etc.).
My family is great, our little man is keeping us constantly on the move but it is incredible to watch him learn and grow.
My job right now is really taking up a lot of time/energy. It has been an insane few/several/dozen?!? weeks of chaos. I still really like it, and the challenge is sort of addicting, but I am looking forward to when things settle down a bit.
How are things with you? Family/life are good?
Sound’s like eveything is going well for you mate. I know what you mean about the crazy work but liking the challenge and its addictive nature. I would council just to be watchful that this doesn’t become too crazy or take you away other things too much. I am very guilty of prioritising work and neglecting other things which is not ideal. How old is the little man now, 2? The younger years certainly are amazing but it all seems to go by so quickly. My middle daughter turned 10 today.
Everything here is good, life is very busy with work, home, 3 kids and training all needed attention but we are happy. The recent job move took a lot of pressure off and home life has been so much better, mostly because I am happier and far less grumpy.
06/23/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER W2D2
Pullups
12
12
8
8
Hanging from handles. These are much more difficult for me than using the fixed bar on my rack.
BB Bent Over Rows
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
Good weight for a couple of weeks. It has been awhile since I’ve done BB rows, they are feeling pretty good right now.
Clean Pulls
225 x 10
225 x 10
225 x 10
I’m sure these didn’t look at all like they were supposed to but I changed my thought process on them a bit, which made them feel less useless/awkward. This is going to sound obvious to most reading this, but I just pictured how I would attempt to clean it (even with my awful form) and then stopped before I would attempt to catch the bar. Next week I’ll take a video of this calf raise, hip extension, shrug, reverse curl monstrosity.
SUPERSET
Plank
60s
60s
60s
Situps
20
20
20
I have lots to be grateful for! Thanks for the concern regarding work. I’ve been making some mental notes as things have really began to pile one, and still try to say no and/or push back/delegate work where I can. It is something I need to continue to be mindful of though.
Yes, he is nearly two years old now! You’re not wrong about time going by so quickly.
I’m glad to hear things are going well on your end and that you were able to make a job change that positively affected the rest of your life. Most people have a grumpy dad, and then they become one!
06/24/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER W2D3
Strict Press
140 x 10 x 10
Not too bad overall, the last couple of sets were starting to drain me. Was not taking my full 4min rest either, so I may add a little weight next strict press workout.
Lat Raises
35 x 12
35 x 12
35 x 12
BB Curls
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
Situps
20
20
20
Back Extensions
20
20
20
06/26/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER W2D4
Bench Press
245 x 10
245 x 10
245 x 10
CG Bench
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
Incline Bench (45 degrees)
185 x 10
185 x 10
185 x 9
SUPERSET
Dips
20
12
10
Pushups
16
10
8
06/27/2021
100 Burpees
10m 52s
Whew, lungs chest and shoulders were feeling these. Nice quick one here to get the sweat going.
A beach day is planned with friends in 2 weeks, so I’m going on a little mini-cut because, well, beach day. No drastic cutting strategies here. The plan is to just cut out adult beverages, keep carbs low, keep snacking to a minimum and be hungry once in a while. I’m also going to try and sprinkle in a few extra little calorie-burning sessions like these. Two weeks isn’t a ton of time to make a big difference, but at least look a little less sloppy.
It’s a goddamn plague!
Fk me @ChongLordUno has even infected Canada, is nowhere on earth safe!!
Time to drink the Kool-aid, kd!
This man and his attitude are infectious! I haven’t determined whether burpees are the treatment or side effect of said infection though…
Cheers man. Greatly honoured 
This madness has got to stop.
06/28/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER W3D1
Squats
135 x 5
225 x 5
305 x 10 x 10
That was it for this one, time-limited workout but I got the main work in.
The 305lbs is a sneaky weight. It feels quite light on the unrack, but on sets 6-10 the difficulty starts to creep up there. I’m definitely not RPE 10 on these, but they are hard work and my legs are sore for a full week after these.
06/29/2021
DEEP WATER BEGINNER D3D2
DB Reverse Lunges
50 x 10
50 x 10
50 x 10
Pullups - hanging “D” handles
14
12
10
10
BB Rows
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
-Hip Health-
Hip Flexor Raises
3lbs x 15
3lbs x 15
Pigeon Toe X-Band Walk (toes pointing inwards - to focus on glute min)
30s
30s
I still need to play a bit of catch-up on these workouts, but I’m making my way through them.
This is the Deep Water story right here. First 2 sets you think “I went too light”, then set 4 rolls around and you think “No no, this is right”, then set 6 happens and you think “Oh…I made a terrible mistake”
And then you have a full week to think about that mistake, haha.
Each time I complete a set after set 6 and go to put a tally down, I am convinced that I must have forgotten to tally up my last set. That is when I begin to fear the remaining few sets. I’m not quite into reps where I’m concerned about failure, but I’m to a point where muscles are on the verge of cramping and I’m having to breathe mid-squat. While in my earlier sets I usually complete the first 5 reps in a single breath.
This is the EXACT same metric I use to measure “danger territory”. I try to get as many reps in one breath as possible, and then I try to KEEP that number for as many SETS as possible. Once that starts to waver, I know I’m starting to hurt.
A big part of it is trying to convince the body that it’s NOT in danger. I have to treat the sets like they’re NOT stressful, even if they are. If I start breathing out too early, it signals that the sets are stressful, but if I can keep 6-7 reps in one breath, then it MUST be ok.
Set 7 is when I allow myself to start deviating. I actually tell my body “NOW you can start hurting”, haha.
I read a while back what Wendler does for his widow makers about breaking them out in different “sets” in your head just to try and trick yourself into going further into the abyss. When it gets to his last 10 he starts thinking you can do a set of five, now just knock out a set of 3 and of course you can do 2 singles…come on. Anything you can do to keep yourself moving. This back and forth has some great tips for pushing yourself through it.
That’s a big one for sure. Another one from Dan John is counting DOWN vs up. For some reason, it just makes things easier. So then you combine them and go “3-2-1, 3-2-1, 2-1, 2-1” to get through that set of 10.