Saturday
Sunday
Hadn’t really been posting in my log lately but still been at training. Been doing mostly a mixture of crossfit workouts, cardio, and then some strength work either after a crossfit HIT thing or on a day when I don’t feel like doing boring cardio crossfit garbage.
I really hate crossfit workouts but that seems to be the reason I need to do them for awhile. Looking to build a bigger fuel tank / work capacity so I can smash weights again at a better strength to weight ratio. That’s the theory anyways. Will post stuff randomly for a bit but my heart really isn’t into this style of training to want to document it, but it’s what I need to do for now.
Here was today…I call it “Xfit for a recovering powerlifter”
3 Rounds as fast as possible
Strength
-Main: bench press
-185lbx8
-205lbx6
-225lbx5
-255lbx5
-275lbx5
-295lbx3
-315lbx3
Assistance Circuit 3 rounds:
-barbell row 3x5-8 225lb
-db chest fly 3x12 50’s
-Tricep rope pushdowns 3x20 50lb
Monday
3 rounds
3 rounds
Those back ext sneak up on you after rowing!
Tuesday
Front Squat Strength Ladder
3 Rounds (70’s, 80’s, 80’s)
Tuesday
CrossFit WOD: Cindy
AMRAP 20 minutes
Strength Work: Squat
Main: SSB Box Squat w/ Bands
Supplemental: Chain Suspended SSB GM
Assistance Circuit: 3 Rounds
Assistance #1: DB Curl x6-8 (60’s)
Assistance #2: Hanging Leg Raise x12
Assistance #3: DB Calf Raise x20-30 (60’s)
Notes:
My teenage daughter wanted to workout with me so we did Cindy together. Had to scale her down to inverted rows vs pull-ups and then after a few rounds of kneeling pushups I had her do a plank instead. She got some good squatting practice in on the air squats and I got to give her a few pointers. Was a fun little warmup up and not a terrible pace for me which was a nice break from the real Cindy workout. Usually I am trying to stay at 1 round a minute but this time around I got well under 20 rounds. Maybe 15 if I was lucky.
Banded SSB was pretty tough. I am much slower off the box with an SSB over say a power bar or cambered squat bar. Doing good mornings after the banded squats was interesting. The bar felt so light when I unracked it but then quickly remembered what it was when I bent over with it.
Fun workout all things considered.
Monday
Cardio
*20min Rower
Strength
Main:
*A: BB Press 3x8 (125lb), 145lbx8, 165lbx8, 175lbx5, 125lbx13
Supplemental:
*B1: BW Dips 3x12-15
*B2: High Pull (125lb) 3x10-12
Assistance Circuit: 3x6-8
*C1: DB Front Delt Raise (30’s)
*C2: DB Side Delt Raise (30’s)
*C3: DB Rear Delt Fly (20’s)
Tuesday
Conditioning: AMRAP 20 Mins
Assistance Circuit: 2 Rounds
For past week and a half I have been tracking my sleep using an Apple Watch and then also logging my heart rate variability (HRV) using the free trial version of the Welltory app.
The science and statistical analytics of these things really interests me. If you haven’t looked at this stuff before I think some of you will find it intriguing. What a cool time to be alive. Anyways, lots of people in my personal life have told me I am always on the go, and need to chill more. My wife recently accused me of being stuck in a constant anxious/stressed state for the past decade of our lives together and I seem to have just gotten used to this being my new normal.
Looking back over the data from the past week it turns out she is probably right (she usually is). My current daily routine pretty much keeps me in a sympathetic state for nearly the entire week according to the HRV. I did purposefully rest/relax for two days in a row and my metrics dramatically changed for the better. It seemed like one day of rest was pretty good, but after a big training session, chores, outdoor walks/yard work, etc…my body really needed two full days of not working out to get back to normal.
I really need to work on my sleep. Left to my own devices I will sleep 5 hrs and “feel” fine. But this appears to just be my body tricking itself into believing it is fine but instead I am just staying in an adrenaline fueled catabolic state. Of particular concern is my “deep sleep” being only about 15-30 mins rather than something like 2hrs. Looks like the only real way to get better on this metric is to go to bed earlier and well before midnight. I don’t think science really understands why this is the case but the data seems to suggest this as well from my brief exposure so far.
Alcohol totally messes up these metrics even if only 2 drinks. Got into a slight tiff with my better half one day also (unrelated to alcohol just, fyi) and it demolished my metrics worse than any other time too which was eye opening. Basically the autonomic nervous system seems very sensitive to these stresses and defaults almost everything to “fight or flight” rather than “rest and recover”.
In summary, what I have learned so far is that I need to actually “focus” and “train” for “rest and recovery” rather than the other way around and try to maximize my time spent in a parasympathetic state. Which is rather annoying because it “feels” like a waste of time and being lazy, but I know that it is necessary and likely what has held me back all these years. Annoyingly I always have gotten my best progress in the gym when I pulled back on intensity which never really made sense to me until now. My absolute favorite workout methodology I ever tried was Westside Conjugate, but looking back it was also the type of training I should have avoided. It definitely “burned” me out mentally by the end of a 16 week cycle where I had trouble sleeping at night because I was so “amped” all the day after the workouts. The crazy thing is that it felt amazing in terms of how your mind is firing on all cylinders. Aggression, motivation being high until the moment it finally crashed hard and I lost all motivation.
Basically I wish I had the capacity to train the way I like, but in the interest of making progress I have to take into account the limitations of my current lifestyle, age, etc if I still want to improve. No real solutions yet just musing for now but the past week gave me a lot to consider.
Good post. Nice use of technology. I agree with everything.
Especially the part about how good it feels to ramp up your nervous system and be all over adrenalized.
And how much the 2nd day off can help.
Yeah it’s weird too. I took yesterday off from working out and now this morning I feel like I want to go into a long hard session and just wrecking it today. But I know that this is exactly the wrong thing to do ; then I stop and think to myself “why do you want to wreck yourself today” like what the hell is that.
lol anyway I will figure it out.
Yeah, that jacked up, uncontrollable, compulsive feeling is a pretty good indicator I’m still in the Red Zone.
Sometimes when I’ really jacked up like that it take a few days to come down enough to even sit still and stop obsessing about the gym. And from There, it takes a few days of rest to get normal again.
Came down with a cold last few days. Trying to keep things easy for a bit to get back to normal.
Monday
Conditioning Work:
Strength Work: Lower
Main: Squat Variation
Supplemental: SLDL/RDL/GM Variation
Assistance Circuit: 3 Rounds
Tuesday
Strength Work: Upper
Main: Bench Press Variation
Supplemental: Incline Press Variation
Assistance:
I got too busy at the end of work yesterday and by the time I got home and made everyone dinner it was about time to call it a day. My pup kept me awake for most of the night. I made the mistake of not taking him on a walk and instead was selfish and got in a quick pressing workout before bed. The workout and the hyper pup basically meant no sleep lol. Some day I will learn.
Been on a lower carb diet for so long I can’t even recall when I started. I am introducing carbs back into the diet as of yesterday and purposefully going above 200g. Funny how now I have to actually try to eat this many carbs when before this would have been completed on a whim. Historically I have always eaten carbs so I am not too worried about weight gain. If it happens I will just get stronger so win-win. Abs are overrated anyways if it means you can’t eat pasta and potatoes.
I can definitely go no carb but I just don’t really see the value of it for me. Seems to work wonderfully for some people but also seems like your body can adapt to just about anything if you make it.
I am beginning to wonder if no carbs and shitty sleep has me over amped all the time (among other typical life stressors). So my plan is focusing on better sleep hygiene, get that dog outside as much as possible, eat carbs, keep doing my CrossFit nonsense because I hate it and it’s good for me, sneak in strength work to keep me motivated to train…sort of in that order of priority.
Strength Work: Pull (Back & Biceps)
A1: Incline DB Curl
A2: Banded Back Ext. 6x10-15
B: Weighted Pull-Up 6x3 (+25lb)
C: Barbell Row
D1: Rev. Grip Lat Pulldown 3x15-20 (1x 75lb, 2x 100lb)
D2: High Pull 3x8 (1x 135lb, 2x 185lb)
D3: DB Hammer Curl 3x8 (45’s)
Friday
“Bring your shame and I will lose my voice…cuz we’re hav’n an Allll niiight Revivallll, someone call the woman n’ someone steal the Bible, ….for sake of my survival, baptize me in a bottle o’ Beam and put Johnny on the vinyl”
Saturday
Walk 3 miles
Smoked a beef brisket & whole chicken
Sunday
Strength: Upper / Push
Main:
Monday
Conditioning:
Strength: Lower / Legs
Main: Squat Variation
Supplemental: SLDL/RDL/GM Variation
Assistance:
Sunday: Push
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press | 3 | 8 (275lb), 5 (295lb), 12 (225lb) |
| BtN Press | 3 | 6 (135lb) |
| Seated Overhead DB Extension | 3 | 15-20 (65lb) |
| Rope Pushdowns | 2 | 10-12 (50lb) |
| DB Lateral Raise | 2 | 10-12 (35lb) |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 2 | 8-10 |
Tuesday: Pull
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Rower | 10 Min | Row For Time |
| DB Hammer Curls | 2 | 10-12 (35lb, 45lb) |
| DB Incline Curls | 2 | 10-12 (30lb) |
| Weighted Pull-Ups | 6 (2x Pronated, 2x Wide Neutral, 2x Close Neutral) | 3 (+25lb) |
| Chest Supported T-Bar Row | 3 | 8 (165lb), 5 (190lb), 12 (120lb) |
| Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown | 3 | 15-20 (100lb) |
| Banded Good Mornings | 2 | 15-20 |
