How do you feel about the SSB for front squatting?
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I like it but find it a different movement than a barbell front squat. Itās easier than barbell front squatting, but that isnāt necessarily a bad thing. Really solid for high rep sets.
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PM workout was 2.5 minutes alternating between 5 slam ball burpee into a slam, 5 burpee broad jumps, and bear crawling back to start. Really digging what Iāve come up with there to get in some jumps, throws and conditioning.
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AM WORKOUT (0435 natural wake up)
5/3/1 KRYPTEIA PHASE 1 Workout 6
I need to retitle the video
Axle clean each rep and strict press
5xAxle
5x141
5x161
5x181
5x5x141
KB goblet squat
5x10x80lb
DB SLDL w/shrug at top of each rep
4x10x100s
Band pull apart
6x25
Time: Sub 33 minutes
20 standing ab wheels
50x180 reverse hypers
100 Poundstone curls
25 band pushdowns
Notes:
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Taking each rep from the floor on the 5s week is the right call here. Outstanding challenge for that topset and a big metabolic hit all around. I was really cooking here today, even with the added time needed to change out the pin between the KB and the DB. I should treat myself to some more loading pins to cut down on that.
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Body is continuing to heal up and feel better through this process. Iām appreciating the balance of strength and conditioning. Iām still sleeping more than usual, which I imagine is a positive, but also means Iām cutting down on some assistance and conditioning.
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Gonna try to get in more jumps, throws and conditioning like Iāve been doing, and tomorrow my intent is to get in a distance run for my training. Got a 10 mile race soon.
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I find myself getting leaner by the day. Saw some new veins yesterday.
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PM WORKOUT
50 chins
50 dips
30 GHRs
Tabata workout of slam ball burpee slams on odd rounds and burpee broad jumps on evens, with bear crawls during the 10 seconds downtime. That is really becoming a quick favorite of mine. Jumps, throws, primal movement and conditioning all wrapped up.
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AM WORKOUT (0430 natural wake up) FASTED
5+ mile run
Time: 54-ish minutes
Notes:
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First significant distance run in about a year. Wasnāt setting any landspeed records there, but I put myself behind a ton of 8-balls as well. First thing in the morning, fasted, and I breathed through my nose for the entire run. I do these things to keep myself from pushing stupidly hard and blowing myself out. My cardiovascular system had zero issues with this, breathing staying normal the whole time, heart rate wasnāt pounding. Big test was to see how all the small running muscles would hold up, and minus a few moments of some knee aches here and there, it felt solid. My calves are feeling tight right now, but thatās pretty common for me. This gave me confidence in my ability to gut out the 10 miler when the time comes. I think a later show time with some food in my gut will go a long way, and I absolutely intend to treat myself to a Finibar before we start, because those things are awesome.
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Fasted, because of course. But it made the larger serving of Metabolic Drive afterwards all the better.
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Tang Soo Do later tonight, and probably more jump/throw conditioning.
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Awesome work in here as always man
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@whiplash1 Thanks man! Always great to have you swing by.
PM workout was another tabata go of odd round slam ball burpee slams even round burpee broad jumps and bear crawls on the 10 second between. There is some real magic there.
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AM WORKOUT (0435 natural wake up)
5/3/1 KRYPTEIA PHASE 1 Workout 7
Axle Bench Press
5xAxle
5x156
5x206
5x246
5x276
5x5x206
KB Goblet Squat
5x10x85
DB SLDL w/shrug at top of each rep
5x10x105s
Time: Sub 24 minutes
50 pull aparts
Full ROM lateral raise dropsets w/10s, 5s, 2.5s and empty hands
8:15 circuit workout getting in 50 chins, 50 dips, 20 standing ab wheels and 40x90 reverse hypers
Notes:
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Decided to make the challenge today to just blitz through this as fast as possible. Kept the sleeves away as much as I could and moved into the assistance as soon as I was able. Being able to use my fixed weight DBs for the SLDLs was a boon in that regard as well: funny how that works out. I was definitely breathing hard when it was over. The goblet squats continue to just be awesome, but Iām reaching the limit on my KBs loading. DBs are possible of course, set up will just suck a bit more.
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Technically need to get in 50 more pull aparts to meet Jimās recommendation. I can work that later. Getting in some daily work in a circuit was another dandy way to sneak it a touch of conditioning.
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Tang Soo Do last night was a solid workout. Worked a lot of crescent kicks. Theyāre getting snappy and strong. Big part of it is Iām showing up to class without near the fatigue I had when I was running Super Squats, so I can actually put in some work. Mrs and I both got a stripe promotion, so that was cool. Still getting told I need to be less tense. Itās hard to go from an activity where you need to be braced the entire time to one where you need to transition between fluid and braced. KB work will continue to help there.
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Nutrition continues to be high speed/low drag. Iām finding myself coming up with some decent post-V Diet strategies where Iāll take lessons learned from this, but I also have no real reason to stop right now.
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PM workout was a repeat of my slam ball burpee/broad jump/bear crawl tabata workout, alongside 30 GHRs, 50 pull aparts, 25 pushdowns and 25 band curls.
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AM WORKOUT (0430 natural wake up)
5/3/1 KRYPTEIA PHASE 1 Workout 8
Axle deadlift
5x136
5x226
5x296
5x346
5x401
5x5x301
Weighted chins
5x10x30
Weighted dips
5x10x105
Time: Sub 33 Minutes
2x50 band pull aparts
20 standing ab wheels
25 pushdowns
25 band curls
Notes:
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Really struggled on the training motivation for this one this morning. Was contemplating shifting this workout to Saturday and turning this into a conditioning workout. Legit, the only thing that kept me from doing that was knowing that it would compromise time with my family on the weekend. I āate my veggiesā and got this done. In turn, despite my previous bloviating, instead of making this 5x5/3/1, I stuck with the plan and made it a goal to get it done as quick as possible. Iām thinking thatās the right call for Krypteiaās 5s week vs my typical approach of finding ways to make 5s week difficult. I mean, EVERY workout should be done as quick as possible, sure, but the potential to set some speed records is definitely here.
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I am really healed up from the damage I did during Super Squats. Right knee feels great, shoulders and elbows are good, right hip was coming around today. That pinched nerve in the upper back has been VERY slow to heal, but itās moving in the right direction. Ultimately, this has been a good training direction for me. The focus on the assistance work has been a good challenge as well. Iām crushing those weighted dips, whereas in Super Squats it was breaking me apart.
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Stepped on the scale after my shower and saw 192.4. Thatās about 8.5lbs lost in a month with not-so-strict compliance on the Velocity Diet as a result of family visits/living. And considering weight loss hasnāt even been the goal, thatās pretty amazing. Also not a true āempty stomachā weigh in, since I had my shake before training, but close enough. Also the fact I can step on a scale in general is pretty awesome. Lots of healing going on.
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Going to get in some Velocity Diet rambling in a bit. Also got Tang Soo Do tonight and plan to keep up the jumps/throws/conditioning thing.
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Definitely saw this and did a double take. Thatās pretty amazing
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@freshyfresh Thanks man! Iām excited to see just how far it goes. So far, theyāre looking and feeling awesome.
VELOCITY DIET EXPERIENCES AND THOUGHTS SO FAR
As I wrote in my previous training log entry: I weighed in 8.5lbs lighter today than I was 22 days ago. During this period, I radically shifted my nutrition away from āeating to survive Super Squatsā to what Iāve dubbed the family-man edition of the Velocity diet. Iāve really enjoyed this period of experimentation, as its been incredibly eye opening, and I wanted to jot down some of my thoughts now while theyāre still fresh. This may be part of a full on review in the future when Iāve actually fully accomplished the full 4 weeks of the protocol.
FAMILY MAN?
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What kept me away from the diet for so long being a father and husband. Specifically: I have a family that Iām going to spend my time with, and meals are a social/family gathering. In addition, I want to serve as a positive nutritional model for my kid. This meant I didnāt want them to see me drinking the majority of my nutrition: I wanted them to observe more normal eating habits. The Velocity Diet is exactly what itās supposed to be: a diet that allows you to lose bodyfat while building muscle at the fastest, healthiest rate. And when we do things as fast as possible, we tend to do them extremely, whereas I need my kid to observe moderation and balanceā¦primarily because theyāve seen enough āextremeā from me, haha.
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The most current Velocity Diet added a daily healthy solid meal, which already had me leaning toward it more than in the past, when it was all shakes. This would cover dinners with the family. However, reading the ācool tipsā section of the Velocity Diet write-up finally had me convinced when it talked about making the shake into a pudding: with just a slight degree of modification, I turned that into oatmealā¦and now I had a breakfast I could eat with my kid. Instead of pure water, I used a VERY small amount of riced cauliflower, heated in the microwave, in order to create some heat and added texture, then mixed in Metabolic Drive and a very small amount of water to create an oatmeal consistency. Rock on.
OTHER DEVIATIONS
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Iām running this intentionally low-carb. As is, itās already not a high-carb diet (I mean, protein is the ONLY thing thatās high), but the HSM is where this decision can get made, and Iām keeping my carbs as low as possible outside of a small window on 1 day of the weekend (details to follow). Iāve even gone as far as picking the Vanilla flavor since it has 1 fewer gram of carb than the chocolateā¦but I also just plain like it more.
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As readers of my log know: I train at oādark stupid on weekdays. The Velocity Diet protocol is 4 shakes a day: breakfast, lunch, midday and bedtime. Breakfast with my kid was crucial, so I asked @Chris_Shugart which was more important: keeping the shake serving (2.5 scoops), which would mean training fasted and then having the meal post training, or avoiding fasted training, which would require me to split the shake. He informed me his opinion was it was better to avoid fasted training, so I start my day with 1 scoop of Metabolic Drive in water along with a Flameout and 2 Micellar Curcumins, train, then have the other 1.5 scoops as an oatmeal with my kid. I actually mix in a little cinnamon with this oatmeal as well, partially to continue the ācharadeā, but also because cinnamon has some health benefits (thanks again CT!) I also use that second meal time to make a mixed beverage of green tea, 2 scoops of Superfood, a serving of creatine, and a scoop of sugar free Metamucil.
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Alongside that, since Iām up so early training and eating, by 0900 I am ready to eat again. For the first week, I maintained compliance with the schedule and waited until lunch for my next shake, then had my mid-day shake, then the HSM, then bedtime shake. I would be VERY hungry leading up to lunch, and found myself practically forcing that mid-day shake, so from week 2 on I pivoted and made my mid-day shake a mid-morning shake, skipped the midday and went from lunch to the HSM. Thatās been working well.
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Regarding lunch, hereās where we have a significant deviation: 2-3 times a week, I will actually have a second HSM at lunch. This is because my wife teleworks 2 days a week, which means 3 days a week sheās available to meet for lunch. And sheās beautiful and amazing and the highlight of my world, so Iām going to go have a lunch with her. Here, I steal from Jamie Lewis of Chaos and Pain/Plague of Strength fame and his āApex Predator Dietā, which, in turn, stole heavily from the Velocity Diet anyway. On these days, Iāll make this more a real HSM, and then, come dinner time, Iāll stick primarily with small portions of lean proteins with minimal fats and carbs, making the dinner meal like a solid food protein shake.
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āFamily manā REALLY shines through on the weekends. Iām with family the whole time, so itās 3 solid meals this day. Iām also sleeping in, so no AM training to contend with. I still get in a 2-4 minute fasted conditioning session first thing, but otherwise people have seen my crazy mid-afternoon weekend trainings. Iāll still get in 2 shakes on this day (one for bedtime and one somewhere else in the day), and I still get in my Flameout and Micellar Circumins. While talking supplements, Iām also using Alpha Male, ElitePro Minerals, and I started Indigo-3G with this diet as well. The Indigo-3G is usually consumed before the evening HSM.
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Going further into the weekends, 1 day of this week (typically Saturday) I do a carb-up cheat meal. Again, stealing from Jamie Lewis here. He dubs this a āRampage Dayā, but since this is āfamily man editionā, this is simply an enjoyable meal out with the family where Iām not on a diet: Iām eating what I like. This has honestly been amazing from a social healing perspective and itās been fun sharing fun food with my familyā¦but man, for 2-3 hours afterwards I feel like Iāve been hit by a bomb. My insulin sensitivity is most likely jacked to the max (still using apple cider vinegar: thanks CT!) and I am SUPER carb sensitive, so I spike and then crash HARD when itās done. The first such meal was a big plate of nachos alongside some chips and dip at a Mexican Place, and the meal last week was Orange Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp and half of my fried rice at Panda Express. Curious to see what this week will bring. Otherwise, we have a hearty family breakfast and healthy meals together for the rest of the weekend, which I keep low carb just out of habit.
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I also add salt to all of my shakes. In the first few days on the diet, I found myself getting lightheaded frequently. Followers of my log know that my blood pressure is stupid low, as is my resting heart rate, which my doctor explained is a recipe for lightheadedness under exertion. Prior to starting the diet, I was aggressively salting all my food to help with the blood pressure. I realized that, in the absence of the food, Iād lost a salt avenueā¦so I salt the shakes. The salt actually enhances the sweetness, as any baker knows. Iāve also taken to adding salt to my coffee, which Iāll discuss momentarily. And I have Gatorade powder mixed in water post training as well.
MY EXPERIENCE/OBSERVATIONS
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As a non-calorie counter, this is such a fantastic protocol. Thereās no thinking nor is there any doubt: drink the shakes dummy! I KNOW Iām getting enough protein to spare my muscles and I know fat loss is going to happen unless I eat the STUPIDEST HSM possible, at which point Iāve most likely dropped the āHā from it.
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Alongside this, the diet was even more āfamily man friendlyā than I realized. Primarily because Iām no longer spending SO much of my time cooking, cleaning, eating and voiding my bowels. I should really speak to that last part a bit, because my digestion is the best itās been in YEARS. Itās fantastic to not feel bloated and gassy all the time, nor to be on the toilet 4-6 times a day. But itās also awesome not having to shop at 4 different grocery stores, not to play tetris in my fridge with a bunch of meal prep containers, not bringing a cooler of food with me wherever I go, etc. I āpacked lunchā for work on week 1, and it was bringing a bag of Metabolic Drive and a shaker bottle. I definitely see me doing this for work trips for the future as well. Seriously: if you travel, make it a āVelocity Diet weekā.
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I vary between 2-2.5 scoops per shake, based off what my HSM is going to be, if Iām going to have 2 HSMs that day, and what sort of training Iām anticipating. The morning shake is always 2.5, primarily because Iām splitting it, and the evening can frequently be 2.5, but not always. On the days where Iām following the diet legit (only 1 HSM), I tend to go with 2.5 scoops each time.
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The inclusion of Superfood and Flameout is unappreciated genius. Prior to the diet, I was eating a LOT of various vegetables. I am very health focused. A shake only diet tends to go against that, but knowing Iām taking in a TON of healthy vitamins, minerals and nutrients with the Superfood gives me the necessary insurance to continue onward. The Flameout answers the āwhere are the fats?!ā question, ESPECIALLY given they are Omega 3s, which allows me to have HSMs that are a little more varied (not eating fish all the time, but some fowl and bison as well). But what I think is really genius about the Flamout is that it the dietary fat will help slow down the digestion of the shake, which aids in the feeling of satiety when living on a high liquid diet.
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On that satiety feeling, Metabolic Drive being a blended protein needs to be appreciated. Iāve known folks that have wanted to try this diet out using only whey protein, and they crash hard out of hunger. Whey, on its own, is a fast digesting protein, which can serve a specific function, sure, but when it digests so quickly, you get hungry quick. I used to have a whey shake in between my lifting and conditioning workouts, and would be starving for breakfast once conditioning was over. With the Metabolic Drive shakes, after waiting the 20 minutes that the Velocity Diet Plan thread talks about, Iām satisfied until the next one.
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My relationship has significantly improved as a result of this approach, which is definitely the ānull hypothesisā of such a diet. Itās easy to think that a shake based diet will force one to view food mechanically. āFuel the machine with shakesā. Instead, I have become VERY appreciative of food in several ways. Food SMELLS amazing, food is savory, food excites the palate. Flavors have become magnified and Iām experiencing food as a joy. And not in a hedonistic sense but in a very āhumanā sense. While I was running Super Squats, I spent more of my waking hours eating vs not eating, and it just became a job. Now, itās an experience.
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In that regard, Iām finding myself also experimenting and experiencing things I had written off before. The big one is coffee. I used to not drink the stuff, being a āstrict energy drink manā, mainly because Iām a 37 year old child and wouldnāt enjoy the bitter taste (Spike still rocks though, and I have 1 a day, because theyāre awesome0. Now, Iām having a black coffee at least once a day and find it very enjoyable. The hot liquid, flavor and aroma are all a wonderful experience. I also consume a LOT of green tea.
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My āanimal fat phobiaā has also subsided. I had an LDL scare in 2020 that had me go WAY too crazy in writing off a lot of dietary fats from my diet, and though I made a lot of healthFUL decisions, they were not executed in a healtHY way. With the majority of my nutrition coming from Metabolic Drive shakes, I, in turn, know that the majority of my nutrition is NOT coming from animal fats. Which means, when I have my HSM: I allows myself those fats. I had real provolone cheese last night in some low-carb tuna melts the Mrs made for dinner. I had sworn off cheese prior to this moment, primarily because I was āabusingā it, but now: itās just something I can enjoy on occasion. To say nothing of the animal fat Iām taking in from chicken thighs/drumsticks/wings or the ribs I eat. I know I can eat these things because I know when Iām NOT eating them.
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This diet has also been eye opening in just how much āclean garbageā I was eating. One of the biggest offenders was āketo breadā, which is absolutely an oxymoron, and I totally used them for those tuna melts I just talked about, but thatās the thing: itās now a once or twice a week thing, while enjoying a meal with the family. But I was eating about 4 slices a day, alongside a ālow carb burritoā, alongside āketo breakfast cerealā, alongside keto peanut butter cups. I keep falling for this trap and I only have myself to blame, but when Iām only eating 1 solid food meal a day, suddenly I realize whatās important, and itās not any of that junk. Justin Harris said āif you canāt grow it or hunt it, donāt eat itā, and thatās outstanding advice. When a time comes where Iām eating more solid food meals, Iām definitely taking these lessons learned. Iāve also learned a significant difference between what I āneedā to eat vs what I want to eat. I was putting away a TON of food before bed, thinking it was necessary for me to get a full nightās sleep without waking up from hunger. Iāve discovered that a Metabolic Drive shake/oatmeal answers the mail just fine.
THEORIES AND IDEAS
- As far as training goes during this time, Iāve been running Jim Wendlerās 5/3/1 Krypteia Phase 1 program. It seemed like the perfect answer to Super Squats. I think itās a great program to pair with this protocol as well, because, again, the thinking is done for you and it keeps you moving. However, I understand that you need to buy a book to run that program, and not everyone likes/can do the squat, bench, deadlift and press overhead, or do they train in facilities that will be ok with the frequent supersets. Given that the prescription for the Velocity Diet is 28 days, I think a great program pairing for it would be Dan Johnās 10k swing challenge
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Itās ALSO 28 days long, and is SUPER simple to follow. Given that Iāve been championing the āhigh speed/low dragā nature of the diet, a matching program would be fantastic. Think of the mental bandwidth youād free up having your nutrition AND training sorted out for the next 28 days. And that is something I meant to touch on: Iāve had SO much more opportunity to think now that my mind is freed up on this diet, which explains why this short blurb of a post has spiraled into a novel. But the 10k challenge is also renown for producing transformative physique results, so what better pairing?
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Continuing even further, if you wanted to make your HSMās stupid easy: channel your inner āThe Houndā from Game of Thrones and get 2 rotisserie chickens from Costco each week and youāll probably be good, depending on how big of a human you are. If you keep this low carb, you can make a meals out of drumsticks, thighs, wings and breast meat. If you need veggies, pick up one of the spinach or mixed salad containers while youāre there. Youāre out like $17 for the week: thatās outstanding. Which is yet another pro to this diet: it is STUPID cheap to follow. I know there is some sticker shock at the initial cost of the supplements, but when you break it down in a ācost per day/per shakeā format and consider how much money you ARENāT spending on groceries/eating out, itās ridiculous. This week has been a rotisserie chicken week for me and itās been amazing how simple itās been. Pro-tip: eat as much of the bone as you can as well. Lots of good stuff there.
HOLY COW this grew huge! And Iām technically not even done with the diet yet, but I also see myself keeping the shell/baseline of it for the foreseeable future, so Iāll keep evolving, learning and growing.
Thanks for reading! Please leave some questions and comments.
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Great write up as always.
I now need to look into the velocity diet. Agree with the coffee intake. I am heading back that direction as soon as I finish this bottle of Hot-Rox (too much caffeine yohimbine). Thankfully i found 2 mostly full bottles of Alpha Male cleaning out my supplement shelf in my pantry the other day.
Itās also funny you write 10K swing challenge again because I was thinking about rerunning that this morning. I need more conditioning type work and last fall this crazy workout pushed my heart rate towards 175-180 in the beginning. i feel like since I got sick in the middle of it last time I didnāt quite get the full benefits of the 10K swings.
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Appreciate you taking the time to get through it all dude! Haha. My caffeine intake is absolutely nuts these days, which I attribute to Jamie Lewis, but my sleep is also the best itās been in years, so Iām not going to fight it.
Iād love to see you take on the Velocity Diet and 10k swing challenge at the same time. I keep coming up with these ideas and just am not enough person to do them all at once, haha. Be great to have that data point!
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A possibility. Itās my goal to get in the best shape of my life before my 34th birthday on August 2nd (and get my A1c back under 6, triglycerides to less <200 if I can).
Might purchase the kit once tax return hits. Cost/day actually seems quite low after breaking it down and adding some of those chickens in.
Velocity Diet appears naturally low-ish carb outside the HSM, but I would be sure to add some fiberous/starchy veggies in that meal. I think Superfood is a must for this kind of diet even though not required.
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You absolutely have some āHoundā in you. Haha.
Concur on the Superfood. SUCH a gamechanger. Knowing that you have the basics covered goes a long way. Veggies are a great call. Iām trying out my own mini-carnivore run here, simply because Iāve always found that approach interesting as well, but Iāll never consider veggies ābadā, haha.
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PM WORKOUT (1530)
21 ABCs in 5 minutes w/24 kg bells. Took it slow and smooth, since itās been a while. Still a solid gasser.
Tang Soo Do was a solid workout. I we had to do 60 push ups, 60 sit ups and 60 jumping jacks at one point. The senior student said āI wanna do 70!ā. I called him out on it and said weād do them after class together. He thought I was bluffing.
You know how this story went.
I enforced a standard of our chest touching a foam pad on each rep. He got exactly zero after 4 attempts and decided he didnāt wanna do any more.
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Honestly, I hadnāt thought of this before, but I dig this idea. I do a lot of 2-4 week trips for work, that would honestly be a perfect time for me to implement something like this. Especially since Iām on the ship so the only other real option is ship food which is almost inherently unhealthy. Great idea.
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Amazing write up Pwn!
Enjoyed all of the minor tweaks and adjustments that you made to make it work for your situation.
My Biotest Cart just might have some Metabolic Drive in it!
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