I have a bit of Ground Venice left here in the freezer. Might have to pull it out and finish it off…
Must get more.
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They know, haha.
I finally took part in my own successful hunt this weekend. While I didn’t get a deer of my own, I did earn some meat by doing most of the work dragging it for the better part of two miles back to the truck.
Super satisfying to have all the work pay off, even if someone else was the primary beneficiary. Luck just happened to break his way that day. It was also pretty cool to have him say getting the deer back wouldn’t have been possible without me, haha.
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@wiseman83 It’s definitely an anabolic protein source! So satiating too.
@mr.v3lv3t Definitely a solid way to earn some chow. I fulfilled a similar role with the group I was out with.
AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE Week 5, Workout 2-“Unscrouplous Mercenary Among Waring Empires”
40 minute workout
- EMOM, do a Viking thruster w/90lb loaded on axle
- Add a thruster each round
- Do Turkish get ups between rounds w/10kg bell
- When beat by the timer, re-start thrusters at 1
18 minutes of Dan John’s ladder for prisoner squats and push ups (200 total)
BREAKFAST
Walk w/wolf (no vest, very windy and cold day, had to move fast)
Notes:
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The story: In the midst of the war between the Aesir and the Ottomans resides our Cimmerian, who owes loyalty only to the coin. But the constant shifting of alliances and unending battles gradually consume him.
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Really had to convince myself to get up and train this morning. Just feeling beat to hell. Despite the feasting, I’m still pushing beyond my limits. I settled on this workout because the get ups seemed like a way to challenge myself while keeping the load light. I’m digging the idea behind a workout where I just get up and down off the floor a bunch.
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The story is cute there: Viking thrusters for the Aesir, Turkish get ups for the Ottoman. I coulda brought in more cultures with some Russian vs American KB swings if I wanted to be goofy.
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Took a bit to find my groove on the get ups, but after enough time it was starting to click. My hip is still pretty pissed at me, which made the thrusters not super awesome.
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Was good to get in the bodyweight work afterwards. It’s honestly the most tonic/beneficial stuff I do for myself, specifically those squats. I have Tang Soo Do tonight as well, which will get me a little more.
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Weather was absolutely nuts today. Crazy high winds. My “wolf” is a 15lb pug, so I had to work to make sure she didn’t turn into a kite. I went without the vest so we could move quick, and after an hour of solid training this morning, it seemed like I had done enough.
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My rings are falling off my fingers. I’m losing a bunch of water and swelling. I keep forgetting what the “after” is like on these carb-ups. There’s really an element of hormesis at play here I think. I’m intentionally inducing inflammation when this happens, and then the body heals, rebounds and becomes stronger. This is that “harmony disruption” piece I’ve spoke to earlier. And it’s the same side of the coin with the protein sparing modified fasting vs high fat intake. And that seems like a spectrum on it’s own. Pure protein-high fat-high carb. In the middle is the balance, and the extremes make it so the balance is harmonious. Far out man.
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Cossack squats 
Indian clubs would be an interesting addition too. A bit more “strength mobility” work.
Thought about those too. No Indian clubs in the gym to use though. I DO have a baseball bat that I used to swing on some mats at one point though.
Training this morning
Followed immediately with a 50lb weighted vest walk with the wolf
Post lunch workout
23x225+chains breathing squats with pullovers, then a 10 minute EMOM burpee chin/chain press, then 1 min of KB throws.
The squats are a great solution. I can really push hard with these while keeping the pain out of my hips. If I can keep the reps the same and add weight back up to 275, that will bode well.
Also got in a 3 mile walk post dinner. Been eating well, tomorrow I will feast, and old traditions will come through.
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I’m a little sad there wasn’t a camel punch involved in this one
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Not for lack of want! Haha. If I set it up in my basement I could have hit my BAS between rounds.
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Flex Comics definitely captured my Id here
Meanwhile, here’s how I guaranteed an anabolic Thanksgiving
301x135lb high handle trap bar lifts
Not my all time PR, but a new one for this bodyweight. And you can definitely see that the effort was real.
Maybe some walking or something later, but this was “enough”
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Slept until about 0730, woke up and got in 50 prisoner squats and 50 push ups using Dan John’s ladder
After a fantastic breakfast, did a burpee and alternating single arm KB clean and press w/20kg bell for 5 minutes followed by a 2 mile walk wearing a 50lb weighted vest with my wolf
Lived life, had a great lunch of about 7 burger patties and 2 slices of swiss cheese from Culver’s working some fast food ordering wizardy, then did this workout when I got home.
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE Week 5, Day 5: The Cimmerian Swears To Never Drink Again
Can we pause an appreciate that the youtube link ends with “Hulk”?
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23x230+chains breathing squats w/pull overs, into 30 minutes of cleaning and pressing a 100lb keg over my head (118 reps managed during that time)
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And 20 standing Wheels of Pain
I feel the need to point out that I am RIDICULOUSLY sore from pulling 301 reps on the trap bar yesterday. Specifically in my traps (go figure). So holding that bar on my back was super fun, as was cleaning a f**king keg 118 times.
Chased it down with an amazing “meat and eggs” dinner of a turkey thigh and 4 fried pasture raised eggs with some grassfed sour cream. Had a little more dark meat turkey after that.
I had two people comment today that I look bigger: one a random youtube commenter and one my Valkyrie. The latter is, of course, the most significant, but both speak positively to the impact of this training and eating. Been awesome validating this approach. It also means I’m finally outeating my training, which has taken some doing for sure.
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Slept until 0730, prisoner squats and push ups, walked the wolf with a 50lb vest, great meals, and this fantastic training session
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE 150 rounds of the 1 armed Cimmerian Complex
Complex is as follows
Push up onto KB handles
Single arm clean and strict press
Single arm KB squat
w/20kg bell
25 conan curls
25 pushdowns
50 pull aparts
10 Wheels of Pain with a plank and hold for the final rep.
Also, my doe finished processing today and I brought home the meat. I got a freezer packed with Venison. Gonna be eating good for quite a while.
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Last day of the long holiday weekend. More awesome eating.
Training was GI Jane and Pukie Brewster WODs
GI Jane is 100 burpee chins, Pukie Brewster is 150 burpees
Got the 100 BCs in 12 minutes, 100 burpees in another 12, and finished in sub 30. Excellent use of time.
Carb up meal tonight with some spaghetti and homemade sourdough, then back on the program. Grappling tournament in a week: snuck up on me. How crazy.
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Absolute specimen!
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Thanks man! It’s funny: people tend to respond the most to my easiest workouts. That 301 reps of the trap bar was me taking my soul to the woodshed and there wasn’t a murmur, haha. But this was a good way to prime myself for the week.
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Might just be me, but I’d guess it’s because no one else can relate to the super crazy stuff, I have no frame of reference for 301 reps and the fortitude required to get there, I have done 10 mins of Burpees and Burpee chins and your results are double mine, and you did them done back to back, how I feel after 10 mins gives a real good idea of just how far above my level and how hard you’re working, daily.
Might have to try the tbdl craziness to appreciate it one day.
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@alex_uk Definitely give it a go! You really learn a lot about yourself in those moments. And I appreciate you giving me some perspective there. It’s always interesting to me to see what is well received and what isn’t. With the blog especially, some of the posts I don’t even think are worth posting will get the biggest reviews, and some of the ones I think of as “my masterpiece” get nothing, haha. It’s always a learning experience.
AM WORKOUT (0417 natural wake up, good night of sleep)
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE Week 6, Workout 1
40 Minutes of Mainwork
SUPERSET (press-chin)
Log clean and strict press away
3x165
3x175
2x185
Chins w/chains
3x7
GIANT SET CIRCUIT (press-chin/abs-pull)
Log clean and strict press away
10x3x165
Chins
1x10
4x9
Standing Wheel of Pain
1x10
3x9
Band pull aparts
10x14
Neck harness
10% Corollary
Breathing Squats w/pullovers
20x235+chains
Poundstone curls
100xAxle
Lateral raise stripset
5x20
10x10
15x5
20x2.5
25xEmpty hands
25 pushdowns
BREAKFAST
Walk w/wolf while wearing 50lb vest
Notes:
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The log performance continues to improve. Was feeling very strong for it today, minus a headspin on the second rep of the first workset. I wasn’t moving super fast this workout, taking my time to get set as the weight continues to climb, but I was crushing the lifts. I’m going more Hepburn style with the assistance, adding a single rep total each workout vs per set, as I’m starting to reach a point where the assistance is taking more than it gives.
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The squats were absolutely in the right spot for effort. That’s technically a 3 rep drop off from previous efforts, but previous efforts were set later in the day, with meals in me, and first thing in the workout. This was done AFTER 40 minutes of log work and it definitely showed. My right knee was getting a little tricky on me, and during my 30 minutes of keg pressing workout last week I felt it twinge a little, so I had to slow things down a touch and decided to rack at 20. As you can see from my body’s response, it was the right call. And once again: I had a carb up meal last night and find it a little harder to push the next day. I feel like it’s a sure sign I’ve become fat adapted rather than a sugar burner, and, in turn, when I don’t have enough fuel in me, it shows.
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It’s gotten cold. We had our first real snowfall yesterday, and it was 17 degrees when I was walking the wolf. I prefer the cold, but it does suck that I get less sun exposure now.
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In general, pleased with how this all went, especially this far into the program. Also, got to shoot a podcast yesterday with @ChongLordUno . We had a great chat, and once again I felt like I couldn’t cover nearly all the things I wanted to talk about. Excited to see it posted.
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Bought a rash guard for my grappling tournament on Sunday. It snuck up on me. Thinking about doing some steak and eggs the night before the fuel for it.
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AM WORKOUT (0420 natural wake up, good night of sleep)
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE Week 6, Day 2: The Cimmerian Crucible
Log DT (5 rounds of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang cleans, 6 jerks) w/100lb log
Axle Grace (30 floor to overheads) w/136lb axle
Fran (21-15-9 Thruster and Kipping chins) w/95lb barbell
Isabel (30 snatches) w/20kg kettle bell (30 snatches per arm)
Total time: 40 minutes and 20 something seconds
16 minutes of Dan John’s ladder for Prisoner Squats and Push Ups (2-3-5-10). No idea on rep total: something over 200
BREAKFAST
Walk w/wolf wearing 50lb weighted vest
Notes:
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Came up with this last night. DT ALWAYS wrecks me, and the biggest reason is because my clean is just absolute garbage, to say nothing of my hang clean. The log was a good way to overcome that, but I still had to scale the weight down quite a bit to make it work. You can see in the footage that it still absolutely wiped me out. I liked being able to have all the implements loaded ahead of time and being able to transition rather quickly between the workouts. I definitely caught myself stalling a bit there, and there’s some room to clean it up, but this is pretty solid.
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My back was totally wrecked when Grace rolled around. Threw on the belt in case I needed to continental, but was able to clean every single rep, which was outstanding. I was trying to control the noise on the eccentric, which had me moving a little slower than I’d like to.
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Fran is always a miserable experience. Really tried to focus on moving a bit quicker on the front squat portion of the thruster. Isabel was just a target of opportunity: I saw how much time I had left for a 40 minute workout and just went for what was available. 20kg bell isn’t even half of the RX weight of 135, but it still gassed me at the end.
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Really tried to focus on moving fast on the squats and push ups. Reps are good, but we can make this a workout as well.
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Weighed in at 174.8 after my shower this morning. That’s the heaviest I’ve been in quite a while. It’s outstanding to see that the protocol is working. I’m building muscle, staying lean, and getting stronger on my lifts. Really figured something out here. Also glad I signed up for the correct weight class for my competition.
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AM WORKOUT (0424 natural wake up, good night of sleep, wanted more)
CHAOS IS THE PLAN: THE CIMMERIAN CHRONICLE Week 6, Day 3: “Tribute To The Great Warriors”
(4) Axle Mat Pull
5+3+3x405
20 minutes of EMOM axle Klokov Press (66lbs) and band pull aparts
Sets of 10 or 5 on the presses, sets of 10 on the pull aparts
Breathing Squats w/pull overs
20x240+chains
20 standing Wheel of Pain
10x115 Kroc row
Breakfast
Walk w/wolf (no weight vest)
Notes:
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Absolutely did not want to do any overhead work this morning, and honestly really only wanted to get after the breathing squats. Sleep just sounded really good. It’s awesome to be sleep seeking compared to how I used to be, but I was also satisfied once this was over. Came up with the idea to hit up the Klokov presses in the middle of the night and that was an excellent choice. In general, this may actually be THE ideal workout. Heavy pulls to start, the Klokov presses and pull aparts completely blew up my shoulders, and when it came time to squat everything was lubricated and smooth and it moved really well, polished off with hard ab work, rows and walking.
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The story: this workout absolutely pays tribute to the great iron warriors before me. We have Bob Peoples’ ROM progression deadlifts, Klokov in the presses, John McCallum and Randall Strossen in those breathing squats, and Louie Simmons and Dan John in the squats with chains.
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Doing Klokov’s with the axle adds even more of an element of suck to it, as the bar is placed even further away from center mass. I forgot how to do them on the first set, but figured it out as I went. Sets of 10 proved too ambitious, so I landed on some 5s for a while as well. I know I got over 150 reps total, and even worked some muscle/power snatches into to the equation.
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Breathing squats are definitely finding my limits. The chains have been a fantastic addition.
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Went without the vest. This workout was heavy enough.
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Tang Soo Do last night went well enough. Nothing too extreme, but good to get the reps in.
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This was in a Punisher comic I was reading recently
Pretty much my approach for Sunday. Sounds pretty solid eh @PowPowPunishment ? Haha.
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@T3hPwnisher totally framing that comic! Try the Klokov presses with plates suspended from bands hanging off the bar sleeve. I call them “Oingy-boingy” presses. Cheap alternative to the fancy chaos bar or bamboo bar or whatever they call the super flexible bars. Hands down my favorite delt/upper back builder.
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