Glad you’ve been digging it dude! This has honestly been a blast for me, and might be a new way forward for a while. Blending fantasy, history, and having the training and diet “tell a story”. The ultimate “being that which does”. And man, f**k “300”, we need a movie called “1” that tells the story of the berserker at Stamford.
I’m thinking there’s room for some Asian history stories. 47 Ronin would make for a great workout I’m sure.
Alrighty folks, settle in for this one.
NUTRITIONAL ALCHEMY
BIG PICTURE STRUCTURE
Currently employing a phasic approach to nutrition, stolen by Jamie Lewis’ “Feast, Famine and Ferocity” diet. There are phases WITHING phases, which I absolutely love, but for the BIG structure: 2 weeks of “Famine”, 4 weeks of “Feast”, 6 week block in general, which fits right in with Dan John’s “everything works for 6 weeks” and Jim Wendler’s 6 week blocks of 5/3/1….and the 6 weeks of Super Squats…and Mass Made Simple. Folks: 6 weeks HAS significance in the world of training. It’s the “40 days” you see in the Bible. We should be attention to why 6 weeks is important.
“Famine” is a period of restricted calories and food in general. In the most IDEAL Famine, it’s PURE protein shakes (Metabolic Drive shakes with water). Will flesh that out soon. During “Feast”, it’s more food, which means fewer shakes are NEEDED, but they’re not restricted for the sake of restriction. If there is a desire or need for shakes, they can be consumed, but, ideally, more food is eaten instead.
No transition phases: go straight from the Feast into the Famine. But I’ve taken to ramping up the Feast as I go, vs feasting to the maximal extent. Details to follow.
As for “phases within phases”, stealing from “Apex Predator”, calories are ideally waved through the week, rather than kept static, to include a “Rampage Day” once a week, and otherwise adding when and subtracting based on training demand. Moreso during feast than famine.
SOME PRINCIPLES
Protein Leveraging: There’s a LOT of information out there regarding the magical qualities of protein, and many authors have discussed it, to include the aforementioned Jamie Lewis, Mark Bell of Slingshot fame, and of course the good folks at T-Nation/Biotest, with articles like this one with the passage “Turning protein into body fat, however, is an entirely different type of challenge. It takes several biochemical and hormonal steps, and it’s monitored closely by the liver, which metes out amino acids according to the body’s metabolic needs (tissue breakdown, tissue synthesis, catabolism, anabolism, etc.).” as a prime example. We were off the mark when we said it took more calories to digest celery than it provided, but when it comes to protein, we’re a bit closer there: digesting protein is a thermogenic process in and of itself, which can mean that, though protein might be “4 calories per gram”, when we consume it, we effectively receive 1.4 calories worth of energy, having used the rest just to digest it. THEN, when we factor in that protein has the effect of SPARING muscle in a deficit and growing it in a surplus AND that protein tends to be a satiating food, I am willing to consider “pure protein” as a “free food” in my nutrition. Is that scientific? Who cares: this is alchemy! What this means as an alchemist is that, irrespective of where I am in a nutrition phase, if I eat pure protein, it’s a non-entity. This will come into play as I discuss the nutritional phases. It’s worth appreciating that about the only real “pure protein” FOOD source out there (for my consideration) is egg whites, so that’s my go to for protein leveraging, BUT piedmontese grassfed sirloin or some chicken tenderloins can qualify in a pinch. I’m legit looking for a rating of “0g fat, 0g carbs, Xg protein” on a nutrition label, fully appreciating that there WILL be trace amounts of carbs and fats and that it IS, in theory, possible to consume enough to violate the intended benefit of protein leveraging…but in practice, SINCE protein is satiating, one tends to reach satiety before overeating is a concern.
Carnivore/Animal Based: Tying into the above: any FOOD (which is to say, non-Metabolic Drive product) that is consumed is animal. Since “carnivore” is technically flesh eating, I say “animal” here because I permit myself dairy and eggs, as they are the PRODUCT of animals. However, I do not permit myself honey, despite the fact it is produced by animals. Some folks handle it well, but I still need to keep carbs low. But, if it’s meat, or if it’s dairy or eggs, when I’m eating food: it’s permitted. It’s worth discussing that I treat dairy more like a dessert or condiment vs a food. Sour cream and butter are the “sauces” I use for foods, cheese is a topper onto meat OR a dessert (cottage cheese is f—king delicious), I’ll add some cream to coffee primarily just to add fats. In general, meat and eggs make up the primary, and dairy is “in addition”.
Speaking a bit more to the sauces: I try to avoid increasing the palatability of food in general. Limited seasonings, sauces, marinades, etc. I actually take the time to wash these things off of meat if it comes pre-packaged. The truth is: food is ALREADY delicious, it doesn’t need dressing up, and if it DOES: I’m not gonna eat it. My body knows what it wants, and it’s going to want those things, and I’m going to eat the things I want. I’m not going to trick/deceive my body into eating something. This also prevents overeating. Considering I’m stupidly lean right now, that doesn’t really seem to be a big concern, but given that I AM stupidly lean, maybe it’s BECAUSE I’m not overeating, because I’m not making an effort to increase the palatability of my food. I will eat as much as I want, I will no longer limit myself ARTIFICIALLY (walking away from food still hungry) BUT I’m also not going to eat when I’m not hungry simply because the food is yummy. When I’m done eating: I’m done eating. If I’m still hungry, I will eat REAL food until I am not.
Ya know what: I’m gonna flesh that out even more (this is really becoming my opus here). Know what I’m NOT going to do? Make carnivore pizza, or carnivore brownies, or bake carnivore bread, or do any of that stuff. I fell for that very trap with keto. This is fake food. There’s no need to eat it. Real food is amazing enough, and there’s enough joy to be had from it that it doesn’t need transformation. If there is something I’m eating that I’m not enjoying, I’m going to stop eating it: I’m NOT going to process it into something it’s not supposed to be. If I really want pizza: I’ll have pizza. Meat needs no apology.
Speaking a bit more to Carnivore: with my work/life structure, I work weekdays and have weekends with the family. In turn, I tend to have a more shake-based approach to nutrition during the week and, during the weekend, make an effort to stay as Carnivore as possible. If given the choice between a shake or egg whites: I’ll eat the egg whites. I seem to just REALLY thrive when I’m eating more and more animals, and it’s just socially healing to EAT meals with family vs drink them. I also just plain appreciate the challenge of trying to comply to a set of artificial constraints as hard as I can, and forcing myself to “stay carnivore” fosters creativity. So looking at my dietary structure: Carnivore and Rampage Weekends (holy cow, that sounds pretty cool), Apex Predator/Velocity Diet Weekdays.
Rampage/Carb-Refeed: Over the years, I have found that I have zero issues complying 100% with a no-carb diet. I can easily just cut them out of my life and be fine. I don’t have cravings. BUT, I’ve also found, time and time again, that WHEN I include regularly scheduled cheat meals (not PRECISELY scheduled, but as in “one day this week I’ll have a cheat meal” vs “it’ll happen when it happens”), everything just works “better” for me. I get leaner, bigger, perform better, etc. I’ve always gotten my leannest when I included these, and when I EXCLUDED them, I would always be flat and hold a little extra fluff. To say nothing of the social benefit of being out with good company enjoying good food and good times. To say nothing of the ability to maintain “metabolic flexibility”, wherein my gut-biome gets semi-regular exposure to a variety of foods/stimulus and doesn’t get too dialed in. And these days I’m in a place where I DON’T binge eat when given junk food, primarily because my current way of eating actually allows me to thrive and eat to satiety foods I like in general. So, with THAT preamble established, we have what Jamie Lewis dubbed “The Rampage” in his Apex Predator Diet, what others will call cheat meals, and what some can call refeeding. Skip Hill also had “Skip Loading”, which he took from “Sh-t loading”, Justin Harris employs carb cycling, as did Shelby Starnes, but with these schools of thought you’re taking individuals that are already carb adapted, so a refeed tends to require a full DAY of high carb meals in order to top off glycogen, as they don’t have near the sensitivity to carbs that I do. But alongside that, I have to make a concentrated effort to actually EAT CARBS at these refeeds, because I flat out love eating animals, and if given the choice, I’ll binge eat fried chicken before pizza if you give me a “unlimited junk food” option. And because of all these benefits, there is a Rampage Day irrespective of diet phase: famine or feast.
Just to give a bit more detail to the Rampage (it honestly is probably worth its own section), before I have my Rampage meal, I make it a policy to have a Metabolic Drive shake. This allows me to not worry about ensuring I’m getting enough protein in the meal, and can really just lean into the carbs (French fries and pasta are on the menu boys! Don’t need to chase down the buffalo wings), and will help create a natural governor for the meal. I’m not terribly concerned about overeating, as it’s somewhat the point, but as I demonstrated with my taking on of the Stellanator, I DO have a prodigious appetite and CAN put away a monstrous amount of food if given the opportunity, and it’s good to have SOME sort of check in place. Otherwise, I operate off a premise of “am I still INTERESTED in food” when I’m in the Rampage. Buffets are ideal for Rampages, and after I’ve eaten quite a bit, I’ll cruise the line again and see if anything actually looks GOOD to eat. If not: the meal is done. I’m not going to eat just for the sake of eating, nor am I going to eat just for the sake of feeling full/stuffed. But if I’m enjoying the food: I’ll eat it. And, typically, once this meal is done, I’m done eating for the day. This isn’t out of nutritional martyrdom or a punishment or anything like that: I legit tend to eat enough at this meal that I don’t have any hunger for the rest of the day. Which is why this is ideally a midday meal, OR, even better, a breakfast or brunch, as in the case of the latter I might be able to get in one more meal at the end of the day. When I ate the Stellanator, it had to be at night, per the challenge, and it threw me off for a full day.
Aside from that Rampage, whenever possible, I endeavor to consume the highest quality foods I can eat. Grassfed beef, pasture raised eggs/chickens, grassfed dairy, humanely raised animals or wild game, animals that eat their natural diets, etc etc. If I’m putting it in my body, it should be high quality, and these animals gave their lives for me: I’d like them to have been treated well for that sacrifice. BUT, I’m also not going to be a nutritional martyr here. If what I’m served is a grainfed steak, I will be thankful for that food as well. If it’s a McDonalds burger patty, I will eat it graciously.
STRUCTURE AND INTENT OF “FAMINE”
The most ideal compliance of Famine would be Velocity Diet 1.0: nothing but Metabolic Drive shakes all day. Jamie prescribes 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, split between 4-6 shakes, whereas V diet tends to be a bit higher in protein/calorie total. Still using Flameout for healthy fats, Superfood for nutrients, and a variety of other supplements for general health/performance, but as far as baseline nutrition goes, this is “Famine”. For me, I try for ONE of these days a week during the 2 days of Famine, and typically it’ll be the day after the Rampage day, functioning effectively as a metabolic reset. The body responds best to hard, dramatic pivots, so a day of large calorie intake followed by a rapid and sharp drop in food forces it to scramble and come up with a solution. Also, just based off my weekly schedule, my Rampage day is typically Sunday, and on Mondays my wife teleworks and I don’t see her for lunch, so that’s one meal I can make into a shake. If I’m running late for work or she’s traveling, it’s another shake I can have instead of a meal.
I’m willing to consider “egg whites mixed with Metabolic Drive” to functionally be a shake, as far as the above goes, and have used it as a pivot to meet the Famine structure while still having “meals”. This is beneficial from the “Family Man” perspective, as I can make egg whites and protein into a few different permutations of “real food”, like oatmeal, soups, muffins, etc. Egg whites are essentially pure protein, and play into protein leveraging just fine. I’ll discuss my use of the a bit more in depth here.
Outside of my 1 “high compliance day” per week, in periods of famine, my protein sources are as lean as possible. I have a freezer full of piedmontese grassfed steak tips, which boast 1.5g of fat for 26g of protein in a 4oz serving, which is bonkers, but I can go even leaner if I’m so inclined by eating their sirloin, which is given a listing of ZERO grams of fat per 4oz serving. I’ll pair this alongside egg whites, to satisfy my insatiable desire to always eat “steak and eggs” whenever possible while still meeting the intent of the famine. Other options would include chicken tenderloins, all prepared without cooking oils/butter/etc. Certain fish is fine as well, you get the point: cuts of animal with as little fat as possible. This is the protocol for lunches, and if I can work it into our family dinners I’ll do that too, but if I end up eating fattier meats in the evening, it’s not something I worry about. I make sure not to OVEReat, and tend to do so by having egg whites as my go to sides for my meals. A LOT of fluffy egg whites can be quite filling alongside some chicken thighs.
All training days during Famine are performed fasted. I DO have a shake in the middle of the night, but no food upon waking.
As far as intent goes: the Famine is honestly cleansing and preparatory for me. It’s funny: I never considering myself as one for “fasting”, but this IS a “protein sparring modified fast”, and I actually do feel benefits from that. When I made the hard pivot from Super Squats style of eating to Velocity Diet, it was amazing how GOOD I felt from NOT eating food and just giving my guts a break, and that’s what tends to happen during the initial period of Famine. It’s a good break after heavy eating, and it primes me to be able to resume that lifestyle when the time comes. It allows me to maintain a passion for food by providing the necessary duality/dichotomy of a period of caloric restriction WITH a clear and defined end state. Knowing that it’s only 2 weeks of Famine makes it so much more sustainable than an indefinite period of dieting, and coming out of the Famine I am lean but also flat and ready to soak up nutrients.
STRUCTURE AND INTENT OF “FEAST”
I still tend to include a “high compliance” Velocity Diet day during the Feast, and it follows the day after the Rampage Meal, but for the most part this is more about eating to hunger signals than anything else. I want to create hunger so I can eat to satiate it, and I tend to not have much of it after a Rampage. I’m willing to break protocol more though, with this being feast, so I might have egg whites upon waking so I’m not training totally fasted, or if there’s a lunch opportunity, I’ll take it.
Meat is fattier during this time, and ideally off the bone. Chicken drumsticks/wings, ribs, bone in chops, etc. I also tend to pack a snack of 2 whole eggs, that I eat in the afternoon at work.
I ramp up over these 4 weeks, rather than just shotgun blast at the start and hold firm. Similar to what Dan John outlines in “Mass Made Simple” by introducing a new addition each week. Subtle changes, like a half scoop more protein in each shake, extra egg white here and there, more meat at lunch, etc.
If I’m hungry, I’m going to eat until I’m not. During Famine, I’ll tolerate hunger until “the next meal”, following a bit more of a structure, but here, if it’s earlier than “lunch time” and I’m hungry: I’ll have lunch. Often, I find it sorts itself out anyway, and I end up eating less in the later meals.
As far as intent: eating to grow, gain, and support hard heavy training. Simple enough. This also is a “metabolism builder”. Justin Harris among other have spoken about how long periods of restricted calories will establish a low-baseline metabolism, which absolutely sucks, as you’re in a state where you cannot eat much food without putting on bodyfat, which limits the ability to take in nutrients. Having a higher set point allows for greater intake of food, which means more nutritional opportunities.
Man, this grew huge, and I feel like I have even more to say on the subject, but this is a good enough stopping point for now. I write all this down because, right now, at this moment in time, I’ve never felt or performed better, nor have I been in a better headspace. I am the lightest, leanest, and strongest I’ve ever been, and I am NOT sacrificing to get here. I am eating and living EXACTLY how I want, and it’s allowing me to BE exactly WHO and WHAT I want to be. I’m hoping that laying it all out there can help those in need.
Haha dude any time I can inspire you to write several paragraphs I’m down to read. 100% appreciate that breakdown and the follow on nutrition post. Bookmarked the first one (I think I have like 20+ posts in this log alone bookmarked), and the second will be easy enough to find.
This also happens to be the name of football (soccer) ground for Chelsea Football club in the English premier league. As a Spurs fan and bitter rivals of Chelsea, this workout title made me think back to going to the games in the late 80’s, but the battles were very different.
Just reading through those posts (thanks for laying it all down by the way, it was awesome), made me think there is an E-book here for sure. Kinda like a follow on from the bad ideas.
@mr.v3lv3t Dude, you inspire me to grow, so thanks so much for that, and any time I can contribute I will.
@simo74 Much appreciated man. I definitely wanna get another book together at some point. I’m bursting with ideas, just not time, haha.
Got in my remaining push ups and squats in the PM. My upperback and forearms are absolutely fried from this week, so it’s good to know what being a Viking taxes and what this week will grow.
AM WORKOUT (0430 natural wake up) FED
“TO VALHALLA” Week 1, Workout 4: *“BATTLE AT STAMFORD BRIDGE”
30 minute workout: Death by Viking Armor Building Complexes (ABCs are 2 cleans, 1 press and 3 front squats)
90lbs loaded on the axle
“Death by” means start with 1 at minute 1, 2 at minute 2, etc until you get beat by the clock
Between rounds: baseball bat strikes against mats (sledge to tire would be ideal, but gotta use what you got)
Once you die: do a full round of strikes, then start over at 1 (I died a LOT)
OFF CAMERA
In 13 minutes
50 squats-25 swings-50 squats-50 swings-50 squats-25 swings-50 squats-50 swings-50 squats-100 push ups-50 squats-50 push ups-25 push ups-25 push ups-25 push ups-35 push ups (time expired, will get in the remaining 40 somewhere in the day)
BREAKFAST
2 mile walk (combo of walking kid to school and taking dog for walk)
Notes:
This workout moved incredibly fast, which is a good sign. The slogs tend to mean boredom, but I was always moving and those next rounds would whip by. Meanwhile, you can see the sheer fatigue it’s generating through the rounds. I genuinely would have liked to push it to 40 minutes, but schedule got the best of me. I’ve been using this week to get in some much needed sleep as well. Total Viking deload. But this workout can absolutely be a keeper.
I’m using a baseball bat I bought off amazon called the “Cold Steel Brooklyn Crusher” that is supposedly heavier than a traditional bat and meant to develop strength in batters
I wrapped it in a pool noodle and some gorilla tape so that I wouldn’t shred my mats when I hit them. I will need to re-inforce my tape job a touch so I can put some more “uumph” into the strikes, but this answered the mail for today: I was constantly moving.
This was just an awesome workout, flat out, and a great way to kick off a Friday. Gonna get in some Tang Soo Do later, and aiming for some beef ribs for dinner tonight.
Snapped a physique update last night before bed, which means it’s technically my “most bloated” shot for the night. I’m absolutely peeled these days
I really enjoyed how much potential there was for destruction during those first 3 or 4 swings of the bat haha.
Ok, let’s make some sense of all that madness
A typical “hair on fire” weekend. Slept until 0740 with the Mrs. immediately rolled out of bed and knocked out 100 bodyweight squats and 225 push ups. I had actually gotten 100 bodyweight squats done in the middle of the night during a bathroom break, which I counted toward my daily total, because I’m nuts, so I was at 200 squats and 225 push ups for the day. I owed 150 swings, 100 squats, and 75 push ups.
Had breakfast
Was amazing. Carnivore weekends continue. That’s 3 whole eggs in that omelet alongside an egg white, 2 strips real bacon, and the usual suspects otherwise. Omelet stuffed with deer and bison alongside grassfed dairy.
Went garage sale shopping with the kiddo, we walked, and got in 3 miles that way. Actually found a book on the Dukan Diet I picked up for $1. I remember Jamie Lewis writing about it so I figured why not.
Chores, shopping, lunch at BBQ place.
Pork ribs, my kid’s pulled chicken (I trade them my cornbread for their chicken…SUCKER!) and a DOUBLE serving of pulled pork. They originally came out of the kitchen with JUST a double order of pulled pork, when I ordered a single serving of pork and the ribs. I asked where my ribs where, they confessed to their sins, brought them to me and let me keep the extra pork. But, to quote famed philosopher Robert Hill
Ate it all. Love living this way.
Got home, unloaded groceries, worked on dinner prep and lunch prep for the week (details to follow) and continued the Viking themed workouts with
“To Valhalla” Week 1, Workout 5: “Jörmungandr Siege Engine”
10 rounds:
After that, 10 rounds of
Wanted a 20 minute workout and got exactly that.
Then dinner. New recipe: proud of it. Took 2lbs Piedmontese grassfed beef tips, air fried them with a little spray duck fat, one of the pounds I mixed with Kevin’s Teriyaki Sauce
The other I just left as air fried beef, for my kiddo that won’t touch sauces…and for me to keep carnivore. But I did allow myself a little bit of the sauced stuff.
I took a slice of that egg white cake I made and turned it into “riced egg whites” something I’ve been doing a lot of recently.
It’s also the base of my “oatmeal” these days. So now I had an Asian beef rice bowl
Dinner was a win across the whole family!
As for work lunches: tried my hand at smoking chicken drummies and wings. Used a new seasoning I picked up yesterday
It’s not carnivore, but Paleo enough. The low FODMAP won me over. I think I may use it in my carnivore chili, when that comes around (it’s pretty much ready to go, but I have so much other food to work through first).
Ready on the smoker
Midway through and looking good
Fully smoked and…
Ready for work lunches. I’ll throw some egg whites or eggs in there to round it out later in the week. Only 4 lunches, because I’m going to a going away on Monday…actually held at the same place that served “The Stellanator”. I’ll have something lighter this time.
I also smoked some beef liver. No photos, nothing awesome there, but now I have my vitamins.
Oh yeah, also, I use cereal keepers for my pellets, which I think is pretty smart
We’re going out for a brunch buffet tomorrow, so the Rampage is all set and ready. What a day!
Going to get in first and say how insane your back is looking in those keg carries back down the drive. Nothing beats getting outside and training in the sun an this looked like a fun session. Food looking good too although I would be missing something green.
It’s there. 
@simo74 Thanks for that man! Big backs and shoulders will never go out of style. And I’ve had enough green stuff these past few years. Periodized nutrition: giving it a break, haha.
@OTay Great to have you along here dude! Hoping Carnivore iron will sharpen iron.
Another crazy weekend.
Slept until 0730, got up, 160 push ups and 125 squats done right away, live life, get to brunch buffet at 1000, have my Indigo 3-G and 2 scoop Metabolic Drive beforehand, as per Rampage tradition.
That photo is round 1. Rounds 2 and 3 weren’t nearly as substantial, just going for highlights (round 2 was 4 maple sausages and a slice of crab rangoon cream cheese pizza, round 3 was 2 slices of bacon and a biscuit drenched in sausage gravy, since I had so little my first go round)
Round 1, based off the photo and memory, was 1 blueberry muffin, 1 cinnamon roll, 2 pancakes (one was blueberry stuffed) with a bunch of chocolate/syrup/butter/spread between them acting like a sandwich, a slice of french toast, some blueberries, strawberries and oats with honey, a TON of bacon, eggs, some maple sausage, mac n cheese, a slice of cheese pizza, a biscuit with sausage gravy, some breakfast potatoes, 3 different varities of macaroni salad, oreo pudding, vanilla pudding, pistachio pudding, and some cold cuts.
The bacon was legit some of the best I’ve had in my life, left alone on a buffet line. This was the opening day of this places brunch offering, and it’s here to stay, and the wife and I LOVE brunch buffets, and if this became my weekly rampage I’d die and go to Valhalla just fine, so that’s awesome.
Lived more life. Guts completely rebelled on me. Good that the system still works the way it’s supposed to.
Got in THIS workout
But for context: we got home after some errands, so about 2 hours since I had put my fork down. We’re all feeling loggie, so we go for a 5.5 mile walk. I went shirtless for sun exposure, but we actually got rained on quite a bit. I didn’t want to break momentum, so as soon as I got in the garage, I started the workout, hitting a fast warm-up and going for the pull. I wanted to blackout on rep ONE, and by rep 4 I had to breathe out to keep it from actually happening. The bar was snagging on my bare skin a lot, which added resistance, which is awesome.
Got in that KB workout at the end to round out rep totals for daily work.
For those that did not care to watch the whole thing, the video was
8+3+3 mat pulls w/415+chains off of a 4 mat high pull
10 rounds of
Got a NASTY workout hangover from this, so asked my wife to drive while we ran a few quick errands and had a dinner out at a fast food place at around 1800, where I had half a chicken breast before I tapped out.
Came home, walked the dog 1.5 miles for a total of 7 miles traveled for the day.
I just had 3 egg whites with a scoop of Metabolic drive, more out of principle than anything else, but I am STILL quite full. Absolutely nailed the meal.
Alright, Chaos is the Plan. I’m going to run this “To Valhalla” another week, and quite honestly it’s possible through the end of June/the finish of the feast. I’m wanting to do the 10k swing challenge alongside it, so if nothing else, find a way to do 500 swings a day as well. I think that’ll be just incredible. We’ll see what happens. Go chaos. I have plans to include one day of heavier lifting in a powerlifting style format as well: when I have more time I’ll flesh that out.
AM WORKOUT (0440 wake up via alarm) FASTED (unintentional: literally forgot to eat this morning)
TO VALHALLA Week 2, Workout 1: “Erik, Baleog and Olaf Get Lost in the Woods of DanJöhneimr”
575 kettlebell swings w/24kg bell in as few rounds as possible, BUT…
EMOM: First 25 minutes: 2x 1 burpee into 1 Viking thruster w/110lbs on axle
EMOM: Remaining rounds: 1 burpee into 2 Viking thrusters (so effectively 1 fewer burpee per round)
Finished inside of 42 rounds, then 17 burpees I felt I owed to @chonglorduno for cutting them out of my remaining rounds
OFF CAMERA
300 bodyweight squats and 300 push ups
2 mile walk with dog
THEN breakfast (figured, I was already fasted, might as well extend it.
Notes:
DECLARATION OF INTENT
I am doing 15k swings in 26 days on top of my “To Valhalla” Viking WODs to close out June. It breaks down to 575 swings a day for 24 of the 26 days, and 2 days of 600 swings. Sticking with 24kg bell. @Lonnie123 infected me, and for that I thank you. In addition: I am LIVING intuitively through the month of June. That’s already what the diet is. I am eating what I want (meat) and I am eating until I am done eating. That’s already been a huge positive, and yesterday was a demonstration of such, as I had my massive feast, I gorged but did NOT binge, when I was done, I was done…and I was DONE. A half chicken breast for dinner 8 hours later and some protein to feed the muscles while I slept, a fasted workout in the morning (which wasn’t by design, but a testament to how I still wasn’t hungry), and still continuing the protein sparing modified fast while the appetite returns. But this is intuitive TRAINING. I noted that, the morning I was supposed to start “Feast”, I just plain didn’t want to…so I didn’t. What I wanted to do was all these crazy Viking WODs, so that’s what I’m doing.
THIS was an awesome way to get there. I was hurting, to the point that, as you see, I had to shave off a burpee just to get some swings in. Enough rounds of 3-4 swings let me know that I had swam into the Deep Water and needed a life-preserver if I wanted to make the swim back home.
This was a cleansing workout. I’ve really dug these the day after my Rampage. Despite that giant opus on nutrition I just put out, I could keep going, and part of that is that the hard/sharp fast following the feast has really been a positive for me. I come into these workouts still surviving off the feast and I sweat grease and Crisco out of my pores and, when it’s over, I finally have an appetite again and feel “right”. Being able to throw my walk in immediately afterwards was all the more perfect. I’m still going shirtless, to get in maximum sun exposure, but I do wish I could also work the weight vest in there that way.
Level change and overhead: when you can do them BOTH, you’re onto something, and that’s why I go from burpee into thruster. It’s really worth pursuing.
As for the way forward with June: 575 swings a day will be the feature, with the 300 squats, push ups and 2 mile walk also remaining. I’m planning on employing similarly structured workouts as the first week of Valhalla, but including swings where I can to get in my daily 575. However, there’s a noted absence of max strength work here, so my plan is, on Wed/mid-week, I’ll do a pseudo powerlifting meet WOD dubbed “Festival of Orm Stórolfsson”. In addition, I don’t have the small parts work here that was in feast, so I’m thinking of using my Valkyries workout to include some “curls for the girls”, because when the Valkyries come to carry you away, you wanna look JACKED.
And on THAT subject: I call my wife my Valkyrie. She loves it. And then the other day she said “If I’m you’re Valkyrie, that makes you my Viking…but you’re really my Berserker”. And I told her I didn’t think I could love her any more before that moment and somehow proved me wrong, haha.
Living so free. Work lunch going away
Double hamburger. Added bacon and egg because I wanted that. Ate until I was done. Knife and fork. It just makes sense. I used to be such a martyr at these things.
How do you cook your egg whites? They look so nice and fluffy that I’m not sure if I want to eat them or lay my head down and take a nap.
I vaguely remember that there was a movement about “intuitive training” a few years back, probably as a push back from the older crowd that didnt always have to follow a program with a name. The idea was “I eat what I want and show up to the gym without a plan and train whatever I want”
But I think the thing they left out was that it takes a loooooot of trial and experimentation to have your intuition honed to the point that intuitive systems are productive.
You are probably at the point where you have trained enough and eaten enough that you can intuitively “Eat this” and “train that” and get the results youre after
