More Trouble Than I Am Worth: Chaos Is The Plan (T3hPwnisher Log)

[simo74]

Now you have made me:

1. want to watch Rocky II and Rocky IV (these are my favorite 2)
2. add some raw eggs to my morning cold brew HCP shake. (it already tastes pretty bad so cant make it worse)

[T3hPwnisher]

@QuadQueen We’ll call it an Oregon Trail theme! Haha.

@simo74 Hell yeah on all accounts dude! We’ll get after it.

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Afternoon/evening full of activity. Loaded an old BBQ grill, broken GHR, bent barbell and wood pallet into my truck to haul to the dump, then got in a 40lb weighted vest walk with the dog for .6 mile and then mowed the lawn in the vest for 50 minutes.

[T3hPwnisher]

Don’t tell anyone I am on my phone in the middle of the night but pleased to report that the raw egg in my “wake and shake” was totally undectatable. Now to see how training goes in a few hours

Tagging @QuadQueen to share the excellence

[Deadliftnstill]

Egg in shakes is legit. Its been a few years but back when i drank more milk (i.e. teens) id shake a shot of coffee, milk, vanilla whey and 2 eggs. Frothy iced muscle latte.

[ChongLordUno]

What’s the format for bow your head to grace again mate?

[T3hPwnisher]

Updates and answers soon, but uploading placeholder documenting riding the post diet rebound high

[T3hPwnisher]

@Deadliftnstill

Frothy iced muscle latte.

How did you know my pro-wrestling name?!

@ChongLordUno It’s 30 reps of axle clean and press for Grace. For the bow your head portion, between each rep of the clean and press you do 1 burpee chin, then 1 burpee into the clean.

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AM WORKOUT (0405 natural wake up) SEMI-FASTED: 1 scoop of Metabolic Drive w/raw egg at 0045

PLAGUE OF STRENGTH’S “FEAST” ROUTINE Week 1, Day 3 (Pulls)

High handle trap bar rows
SUPERSET w/
Band pull aparts, then KB hammer curls (so do the 4 sets of pull aparts, then then 4 sets of KB hammer curls)
10x2x500lbs
4x20
4x6x35lb hammer curls

Low handle trap bar bent over rows
SUPER SET w/
Hanging leg raises
1x6x225
5x6x258
5xAMRAP hanging leg raises

Axle curls
3x25x53lbs

FINISH

Alternating EMOM of bodyweight squats and push ups (odd minute squats, even minute push ups)
300 of each accomplished in total time of 11:15

BREAKFAST/DRIVE TO WORK

2 mile walk

Notes:

• The wrong video got uploaded on my channel, haha. I’ll have to fix that later.

• Just gonna say that I wish I coulda pulled heavier. In my mind I’m still the guy that could rip 600 off the floor with no issues. But I have to remember the circumstances. It’s 0400, I’m semi-fasted, I’ve torn several muscles that completely shut down pulling for months (which, victory here, everything held together without an issue), and I’m about 20lbs lighter from my “top form”. The effort was there, and that’s what matters. My right hip is still junked up from Super Squats, but I don’t destroy it with each rep like I was doing with squats. I actually have some “gateway briefs” that I’ve thought about breaking out sometime: this might be the program to give them a go.

• I dig how easy it was to work supersets into today and speed things along. It’s a brutal day with pulls mixed with hard rows, but the remaining work is light and smooth enough.

• I’m sure I’ve upset someone by doing hammer curls with KBs. They’re a great choice for arm work. Honestly, for anything. KBs just plain rock. The slightly thicker handles are appreciated as well.

• Really digging into Jamie’s instruction to just put the effort into the rows and now worry about the form. It’s liberating. Trap bar rows definitely feel nice to just slam. Weight distribution is favorable.

• I will say today is a bit of an anomaly in general: my wife is away at work and my kid is a deep sleeper so I’m less concerned with making noise in the garage. Next week, I’ll have to churchmouse it.

• Those axle curls at the end were the right weight, which is to say: light. By set 4 of the rows, I was DEAD on my feet. There is a temptation to break the Surge back out for these workouts, but so far I’m gonna lean toward more f-o-o-d first.

• That little EMOM workout to get in the daily push ups and squats was a good touch. It takes me 9:15 just to do 300 squats, so breaking it up like this was far more efficient. And then the 2 mile walk sealed it.

• Still got Tang Soo Do tonight, so there’s more activity on my horizon.

[QuadQueen]

@T3hPwnisher

We’ll call it an Oregon Trail theme!

Not quite dysentery, but close. lol

[T3hPwnisher]

We’ll balance it out with some bison chili. Connect the the ancestors.

On that note, I realized I’ve got some ground venison in my freezer alongside the ground bison, so I’m TOTALLY going to make chili out of that at some point. I’ve found “carnivore chili”, which uses meat broth as a base vs tomatoes. That actually sounds more like stew vs chili, but I don’t imagine that’s a bad thing.

[T3hPwnisher]

Finally got the video for today

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1 Day 3 (Pulls)

And check out this carnivore dinner feast

EDIT: Plans changed. Tornado warning looming (hey @tlgains remember what I said about the crazy weather?! Hah), so we took the dog for a 1.5 mile walk while I wore the 40lb vest and now we’re just hunkered down. Great day full of activity and awesome food.

[The_Myth]

Hey - heading to Santa Cruz at the end of the month - think your friend sold the gym. I’ve been trading emails with the new owner but have forgotten the previous owner’s name - remind me?

Looking lean and mean my brother.

[T3hPwnisher]

Hey thanks for that man! That was Clay Edgin that used to own it. He ended up becoming a dad and moving to Texas. He’s making music now. Wild how life goes

[The_Myth]

This gal bought it from Clay five years ago. I’m trying to figure out where to lift while I am there. There’s a 24 Hour Fitness as well but I am going to be on a bike and SCS is closer and I like the vibe of a metal head gym better than 24 Hour, but it’s almost double the price. She seems amenable to working with me though.

I Kant believe it’s been five years.

Not sure I’ve connected all the dots for you but when I lived in NY I found an SSC that played football at Hofstra and is a DPT - John Petrizzo. He’s a great guy with a 1380 (600 DL, 525 SQ and 255 OHP) married to Rory Alter (also a DPT and powerlifter). Through them I met Leah Lutz (SSC but went with Jordan Feigenbaum and Barbell Medicine) who is in Santa Cruz.

So the cabin my grandparents bought in 1954 is less than a two miles from SCS. I’m looking forward to being on the bike and leaning out, getting away from the Smith machines, and adding weight to the bar.

It all seems random (chaos) - I think you may be on to something.

[T3hPwnisher]

@The_Myth That’s wild man! Crazy how the time passes. Good place to be so close. Plus, you’ve got Costco right there too, which is full of anabolism, haha. Chaos is absolutely the plan!

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AM WORKOUT (0355 wake up due to storms/dog): FED-1 scoop of metabolic drive with a raw egg at 0030, then half a chicken tenderloin upon waking

PLAGUE OF STRENGTH’S “FEAST” ROUTINE Week 1, Day 4 (out of order)

This day was structured weird, and I took full video but it’s taking FOREVER to upload, so I’m gonna narrate a bit. The video will make things more clear.

This is what the program lays out

So I started off with worksets of shrugs at 455lbs, which isn’t 125% of my 1rm on deads, but was heavy enough that I about blacked out at the end of every set. I timed it so that my worksets of shrugs would mirror up with all my warm-ups and worksets of the SSB squat

Shrugs w/Texas Power Bar
10x3x455

SUPERSET with

SSB Squat
6x3x405
1x30x245

CIRCUIT of calves-curls-abs (short rest for first 2 rounds, no rest for final 3)

SSB standing calf raise
8x6x245

KB curl
5x10x22.5

Hanging leg raise
5xAMRAP

GHR
6x3 w/45lb vest
1x38
1 min rest
1x27ish

300 bodyweight squats
300 push ups

BREAKFAST/DRIVE TO WORK

2 mile brisk walk

Notes:

• I’m really pleased with how I made this day viable. On paper, it looked like a bear. I’m sure it’d be “fun” with unlimited time, but family-manning it up I had to find where the pieces all fit. Shrugs opposed to squats went well enough. These are HEAVY shrugs. Jamie’s prescription to set the bar at/above the knees for shrugs is spot on, because you hip-and-thigh lift it into place and then shrug, which makes heavy triples viable. I use a mat-pull set up vs rack, which also helped.

• The SSB squat is technically a program deviation, but given this day has a death squat, it is the right choice. And I left it ALL out there on that squat, which you’ll see on the video. After 18 reps of 405, it was a challenge. In that regard, the heavy squats themselves were solid. Very first set sucked, but after that I remembered how to squat heavy. My right hip is feeling strong. Right knee still buggy. I’m thinking rolling it out with an LAX ball might be a good move.

• I like those standing calf raises. I’ll need to go heavier next time, but the set-up is simple enough. With the SSB, I can take my hands off the bar and hold onto the uprights of the rack for stability and really focus on the contraction. The circuit itself is a very logical circuit of “everything else”, and I really like KB handles for curls. I focused on not letting the bells move, so I had to keep my grip locked tight on them.

• The GHR is a total program deviation, but fits the spirit. The weight vest was a dud though. 45lbs was not close to a challenge, and I ended up getting the 6 sets done in about 2-3 minutes. I can go up to 80lbs, and maybe that’s the answer, but I’m thinking just holding something in my hands close to my body will work better. SSB would be great too, but the loading would be tricky. You’ll see in the video that my GHR is in my basement vs my garage, so it’s limited. All that said, those AMRAP sets at the end absolutely nailed intent. Significant hamstring cramping.

• We had insane weather last night, as the tornado warning would indicate. Lots of thunder while I was training, and high humidity. My morning walk was quite energetic.

• I actually have a fitness test today, which has push ups, sit ups and a run, so even more activity heading my way.

• I weighed in at 185.3 this morning, not fully naked. I’ve been eating MORE yet weight is dropping and abs are getting DEEP. This is pretty wild.

[T3hPwnisher]

Alright, finally got the video(s). I tried my hardest to make it all into one, but it was just stupid. Here’s the majority of the work

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1 Day 5: Squats and Shrugs (part 1)

Here is the highlight: 30x245 SSB squat with an epic ending

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1 Day 5: Squats and Shrugs (part 1)

And here’s the video of the GHRs

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1 Day 5 Part 2: GHRs

As for the fitness test today, I got 51 push ups (max score) in a minute, 52 sit ups (max score) and a 12:10 1.5 mile run. The push ups and sit ups were a cake walk. I reached those numbers with plenty of time to spare and no hard breathing or exertion. The run, I breathed through my nose the whole time. My right knee gave me pause, but didn’t impact me to any significant degree. 12 minutes was a time I used to have to train for, so being able to hit it under the degree of fatigue I have is fantastic.

Later in the day, got in a 1.5 mile weighted vest walk with the dog while wearing a 40lb vest.

To celebrate an awesome day, I made air fried rack of lamb for the first time. Full report here

Food Porn Thread

@anna_5588 Thank you for the guidance on the lamb! Specifically cutting it into chops. That was a money play. Allow me to thank you by telling a story through photos [20230420_172348] [20230420_173030] [20230420_173525] [20230420_174059] [20230420_174733] [20230420_175056] That was an amazing celebratory meal.

But here’s the finished product

Man, what an absolute just plain ol’ fantastic day. Also, I used to celebrate these fitness tests with Burger King. It’s nice to be evolved.

[tlgains]

That looks delicious. Have you ever just had a “meat-palooza” before. Cook all of your favorite meats then eat them at the same time.

I suppose a “meat-palooza” is just barbecue lol so nvm.

I’m licking my phone screen right now.

[T3hPwnisher]

Thanks man! It sounds like you would like “Texas de Brazil”

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0355 natural wake up) FED: 1 scoop of metabolic drive with a raw egg at 0045, then some egg whites upon waking

**PLAGUE OF STRENGTH’S “FEAST” ROUTINE” Week 1, Workout 5

Log clean and strict press away/band pull apart superset
8x2x200 (first 4 sets done EMOM, remaining with short rests)

Klokov Press/band pull apart superset
5x10x78lbs

Incline swiss bar dead bench/hanging leg raise superset
5x5x195/5xAMRAP

Swiss bar close grip bench
4x6x195

Swiss bar Skullcrushers (rest long enough for plate change)
10x58lbs
8x68
6x78
4x88
2x108
2x118
17x58

FINISH

300 bodyweight squats
300 push ups

BREAKFAST/DRIVE TO WORK

2 mile brisk walk

Notes:

• Youtube is being really stupid: keeps uploading wrong video. Will have to post it later.

• There really wasn’t’ any way to speed this day along, so I relied on short rest periods. That EMOM opener was challenging. Keeping conscious with short rest log cleans was tricky. Getting through those first 4 sets was a big accomplishment, and now I’ve got a new goal to chase. Feeling strong.

• I needed Klokov presses in my life and had no idea. They are fantastically challenging, and a unique “concentric only” pressing approach by catching the eccentric onto the body. Spot of genius there. Jamie doesn’t prescribe the pull aparts: that’s my own doing, but it’s brutal to put them together.

• I went dead bench on the inclines because I tend to struggle with that movement out of the j-hooks, but it actually felt pretty solid today. Moving forward I might go with a more traditional style. For the hanging leg raises, I used my yoke vs the rack, since the rack was occupied with the incline set-up. I actually felt like this worked better, and might by the new way forward for me.

• Keeping weight the same for the close grip seemed to work out well. Swiss bar isn’t prescribed by Jamie, but I liked how it worked for today. Easy transition from incline to close grip to skull crusher.

• Skull crusher itself is unique. Definitely some cheating at the end: raising my head to meet the bar. But it meant I was working hard.

• Got in a great walk before work. This has been a fantastic addition to my daily routine. Just gets my head right. Gonna try for Tang Soo Do tonight, since it biffed on Wed.

• I was genuinely shocked with how jacked I looked this morning. Had to refrain from taking another photo. I said to myself “this is what thriving looks like”. I am eating the way I need AND the way I like. Having those two meet has been a rare moment for me. I am still reeling over how amazing that lamb was last night, and I have the leftovers for dinner tonight. Steak and eggs for lunch. I am so dialed in.

[T3hPwnisher]

Alright, here’s the video of the training finally

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1 Day 6: Press and Bench

For PM activity, I got in a 1.5 mile walk with the dog while wearing the 40lb vest, then an hour of Tang Soo Do.

On the eating like a champ front, dinner was a repeat of last night, which is to say, f*cking fantastic

And I heard my grocery store announce this morning that they were doing a 3 day sale of chicken wings 99 cents a pound

…so…

It was honestly hard to stop at just 3 packages. That is SO cheap.

I also picked up some grassfed swiss cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream. It’s been amazing rediscovering the simplicity of good food. Or perhaps that is to say the goodness of simple food.

[T3hPwnisher]

AM WORKOUT (0515 natural wake up) FED: 1 scoop of metabolic drive with raw egg at 0030, Egg whites upon waking

PLAGUE OF STRENGTH’S “FEAST” ROUTINE Week 1, Workout 6: “DEALER’S CHOICE”

Jamie Lewis'/Plague Of Strength's "Feast Training Routine: Week 1: "Dealer's Choice"

(5) Mat Pulls w/Texas Deadlift Bar
13+5+4x405+chains

76 rounds in 30 minutes of

• 2 squats
• 2 push ups
• 2 chins

w/20lb vest

BREAKFAST

2 mile walk w/40lb vest w/dog
Notes:

• Mrs was returning today, time was crunched, so prioritized the priorities. I’m thinking I’ll do a full ROM progression cycle via dealer’s choice workouts, and then I got in over half my push ups and squats by doing this workout. I dig how this is Dan John approved: hinge with the mat pull, squat with the squat, push with the push up, pull with the chin, loaded carry with the vest.

• I keep getting shocked with how absolutely jacked I am in the mirror these days. I am thriving. I was living in denial for so long, and now I’m finally feeding myself the way I need AND the way I want, and I’m responding exactly that way.