That’s a Life PR right there, congrats to you both.
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I really like these 30 minutes EMOM with 3 rounds of triples.
May steal.
At the moment your goals of “getting conditioning up without needing to eat a lot” are overlapping mine, as I train for an obstacle course race.
Difference is I have to also train running and won’t need the top-end strength.
But EMOMS are my favorite way to train.
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@trainforpain and @SvenG Thanks so much gents! Still the best decision I ever made.
@jdm135 Steal away dude! It’s perfectly suited for something like that. It gives me extra time to get in anything else I need to do, which could certainly include running. I effectively just stole the old “10x3” protocol and slotted it as needed.
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Congrats on the anniversary. Enjoy your weekend!
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@LoRez Thanks so much!
Typical awesome and busy weekend. Got up, got some bodyweight work in, great breakfast, and then start of a new ROM progression cycle
(6) Axle Mat Pulls: 11+4+3x426
Axle was sticking to my legs a little, and I need to rediscover my technique on it. But this was a good pull, especially given how much back was feeling previously. This will time out to me pulling off the floor on comp day.
I’m thinking I’m going to use zercher axle squats for my middle day workout next week, starting them from the floor. Should have good carryover to the yoke.
Also got to mow my front yard for some extra activity.
Been eating light, even for a weekend. Just smaller portions. I’m enjoying the time spent not stuffing myself: feel less full, more “light” and agile.
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Had one of the best 14oz ribeyes of my life tonight for our anniversary dinner. Morgan Ranch, American Wagyu.
Training highlights are my morning push ups and squats, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, getting in a 4 mile walk as a family, and finally breaking out my yoke after nearly FIVE years of having it in my garage and not actually using it. Official move in day was 2 Jul 19, so I’m not being incredibly hyperbolic there.
Needless to say, I was rusty, especially since this was a zercher carry, which I’ve never done before. I did 4-5 rounds unloaded, just to get a feel for it (unloaded is 160lbs), then bumped it up to 250lbs for a few runs before I finally threw on the belt and realized what a world of difference that makes. I also need to set the height lower next time so I can get a decent zercher set-up: was a little high on my biceps. I also remembered the RIGHT way to breathe toward the end. Been so long I forgot to take short, choppy breaths vs trying to brace and hold the entire time.
I’ve also ordered a throw bag, and it should be arriving soon. And I’m really excited THAT I’m really excited about this competition that I’m willing to train for it. I legit haven’t done that for my past 3 competitions, which was a sign of just how burnt out I was. It’s nice to have a reason to train again.
Still wanting to lean out, so here I am chasing 2 rabbits, but I feel like I have the passion in me to do that too. It’s summer, and there are AMPLE opportunities to get in a solid amount of calories (such as my Father’s Day reservation at Texas De Brazil, and my turkey leg coming up on Friday for our city fair), so I imagine I’m going to employ some manner of fasting, which I’ve become a fan of.
I realize I’ve pretty much eliminated the “Rampage Meal” from my plan, which could also explain some of the difficulty I’ve had in regaining the stupid crazy leanness I had before (along with me not mainlining caffeine like I did before), but my eating habits are also just in a much better place in general that binge-eating junk like that just isn’t appealing. Tonight, my weekly carb load was 3 of my wife’s homemade cookies with some local honey and half a mug of Fairlife skim milk, which is probably NOT enough to really get that CKD effect…but it’s all I need to enjoy. This could be what balance looks like.
And really, I SAW a photo of myself from last year at my leannest…and I don’t want that really.
It was a necessary part of healing, but this is the rebirth.
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AM WORKOUT (0410 Wake up via alarm)
PHREXIAN DREADNOUGHT: Week 2, Workout 1
30 minutes, EMOM
Round 1: 3x300lb Squat
Round 2: 2x180lb log clean and push press away
Round 3: 3x60lb NG chins
Finish out with 2 minutes of Tabata interval log clean and push press away w/135lb
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
50 band pull aparts
2x25 dips
25 axle shrugs against strong bands
Neck harness
30 GHRs
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
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This was positively brutal. I was happy to redeem myself from last week’s squats, and 300 was just about perfect, but these were painful. My right hip is doing that thing again, which typically correlates with axle deadlifts in a ROM progression cycle, and I’m sure yesterday’s yoke work played a role there as well. Took a few sets to start feeling comfortable. I caught myself on set 7 bringing the stance out a bit too wide. First rep was always the hardest, and then after that I could follow on ok, and the re-rack always triggered the hip.
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Original intent was triples on the log, but that became non-viable. It’s no surprise my log push press is awful, given I never train it. I throw the little conditioning bit at the end to get some work in with it. But given this is beltless, first thing in the morning, in an EMOM cycle, it bodes well for comp day, as I’m only 10lbs below weight and not struggling near like I was for my last comp.
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Chins are remaining solid. Low reps are treating me well.
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Conditioning held out ok. I was struggling at the end, but that was earned. Assistance was solid choices, although I forgot to get in some rows, but given the choice between those and the GHRs, I’m happy with my choice.
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Thinking zercher and incline benching for the next workout. Will have to think about what back work may end up being. Chins would be logistically difficult.
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You were DICED haha. Looking more buff again Pwn
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Thanks man. I was scrawny: no two ways about it. But I had healed so much that I was ok with that. I made peace, thinking that it was how I had to be if I wanted to be happy and healthy. It’s been nice to discover it was just a phase, but it was also very liberating to be able to free myself that way. I had lived with the “armor” of my size for so long, that being able to strip it away and still be me was huge.
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Good stuff - learning to be me has been transformational.
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I also don’t think I’d realized how thin you’d actually gotten. I appreciate that you log the introspection that goes with your physical journey.
I don’t want to derail from the more important things you were writing, but this kind of stuck out. The rampage meal was the weekly big meal, correct? It’s kind of interesting taking that down is maybe slowing weight loss. On the other hand, I guess we would expect more moderate behaviors would moderate outcomes.
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@The_Myth Hey thanks so much man! You summed it up well there too. It’s amazing how much time and energy I spent trying to NOT be me, and how damaging that was.
@TrainForPain It means a lot to have your appreciation man. It’s been great having you in my corner. And you’re not derailing at all: the nutrition is really what I find fascinating these days. Despite hearing about all the studies that “prove” that a cheat meal doesn’t have a beneficial impact on the metabolism, I am a believer in the idea that intentionally introducing a massive caloric surplus has the effect of ramping up the metabolism in the aftermath, whereas keeping sustained low calories over time just forces the body to adapt and become sluggish. I really feel like physical transformation is best summed up as trying as hard as possible NOT to adapt. The bros were right when it came to muscle confusion: we have to always keep the body guessing so that it’s always changing.
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
75 KB swings w/57.5lb bell
2.6 mile walk w/80lb vest
90x230lb reverse hypers
50 band pull aparts
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/dog
Notes:
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I stopped logging training motivation, but today it was quite low. I woke up at 0250 and my brain just wanted to think about stuff for a bit, so the 0410 alarm showed up earlier than I cared for, and I’m feeling pretty physically beat. The lower food intake paired with this deceptively hard training is resulting in me being pretty damn sore all over. But that was actually enough to entice me to do THIS particular workout: I knew that it would be tonic and restorative and set me up better compared to if I skipped it. It really helps that I include the swings and reverse hypers on this day, because those definitely go a long way toward getting me back. My knees are also in less pain than they were yesterday, which is a plus.
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Also worth logging that we got in a 3.5 mile walk as a family last night, and it was bright and sunny, so I got in a good amount of vitamin D.
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Weighed in at 82.5kg this morning, which APPEARS as an upward trend, but I’m not being consistent with my conditions of weigh in. I’ve been weighing after my post-workout shower, and these have been post LIFTING workouts, which, with my garage like a sauna, means I’m sweating out quite a bit. This weigh in is post walking outside, significantly less sweat, so the fact I’m .1kg up looks to me more like a sign that I’m trending in the right direction. I’ll need to get some honest first thing in the morning weigh ins soon so I can really figure myself out, but I’m 4 weeks away from the comp at this point, so I’m not concerned.
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On the above, worth documenting what actions I’ve taken to stop gaining weight and reverse direction. Anyone familiar with my approach knows that I tend to intentionally introduce “weaknesses/flaws” into my nutrition so I can eliminate them when needed. While I was gaining, I started including more dairy into my diet, primarily in the form of cheeses (goat and grassfed cow), ghee and sour cream. Dairy’s primary function in nature is to make mammals fatter, and as a mammal I figure that’s pretty beneficial. I was also including pork rinds/cracklin in my evening meal, simply because it’s a no-prep way to add energy. I’ve since almost entirely eliminated these things, with the exception being when my Valkyrie makes me omelets on the weekend I’ll include cheese, ghee, and top it with sour cream, but even then I have a gaining vs non-gaining protocol for those ingredients (I use a reduced fat Jarlsburg swiss when I’m not gaining, and limited amounts of ghee/sour cream, whereas I go with full fat grassfed cheeses and larger amounts when gaining). My midday meals have also become VERY lean: egg whites and venison or piedmontese steak, whereas while gaining I would have fatty cuts of meat like corned beef, roasts, lamb, etc.
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I’m thinking that Phryexian Dreadnought is going to be a phasic program, with these first few weeks getting me back into “strongman shape”, and then spending the next phase working up to a heavy topset and then a backoff widowmaker, so that I can keep volume low and intensity high. That would at least be the case for the squatting and deadlifting. For the log, I’m thinking I might get in 3-5 rounds of “1 minute max reps” to prep for comp conditions. And then chins might just work their way in between sets. Still keep it full body. But, of course, Chaos is the Plan.
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Tang Soo Do tonight, night 1 of 3. This is “Wildcard Cardio” week, which may mean some more exercise, or perhaps an opportunity to earn my final stripe to be testing eligible in August.
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The name Phryexian thew me off. I couldn’t place it with any history (Phrygian was the closest) or any stories I’d read.
Outside of a tiny bit of middle school, I never really played MTG. I vaguely was able to make sense of what function the card had.
Other than being an awesome name and drawing, does it relate to the training itself? I mean, you didn’t throw away everything you were doing with DC 
The scrawniness I can relate to.
It’s been awhile, and we’ve both grown since then, but when you posted that photo I was a bit surprised. I kept it to myself at the time, afraid I’d say something unintentionally offensive. Clearly you were happy with where you were and where you were going, but this was a definite contrast to your prior “look” in photos and videos.
That was around the same time I’d felt I’d crossed some lines asking for context about your “light” 230 pound axle deadlifts. Maybe it wasn’t obvious at the time, but I certainly didn’t mean to offend in contrasting that with prior experience. I do still feel bad for that.
Returning though to that picture. I’m currently in an odd mental place when it comes to my own weight/image. Subjectively, I’ve had the idea that 150 is the absolute minimum healthy weight for me, and I’ve now been a few days sub-150. When I woke up and weighed myself and saw 146 on the scale, I felt some legitimate fear and discomfort. It felt as if I just spent a year worth of training and eating, and threw it away overnight. In the mirror, I also look too scrawny.
Emotions aside though, objectively I did achieve what I set out to do. I leaned out, safely, healthily, without any strength loss, and I learned quite a bit about nutrition. And I built some habits that should be beneficial for the future, specifically: getting regular omega-3s, using protein supplementation, and getting protein in regularly throughout the day.
So it’s just a bit strange to process.
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At the end of my sophomore year in college I began losing weight. I was about 225lbs and fat AF. By the middle of my junior year I was 159lbs and skinny AF. It was mentally challenging to adjust to a “new” me.
My recent psychological work has not affected my weight. But, it has put me in a mental place that I am comfortable intentionally gaining despite a history of obesity rendering me fat phobic.
Ultimately, our experiences inform our decisions moving forward. I try to be thankful for them.
Sorry for the derail.
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I really appreciate reading everyone’s experiences. We often discount the mental and emotional aspect of this, because, of course, your body can simply be a math equation. Each of us, however, is the proverbial 3-legged stool.
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This is an AWESOME discussion gents: it’s exactly what I hope to have here. @The_Myth don’t apologize at all: you never derail. You’re speaking to something big there too: being able to forgive our pasts so we can move into our future.
@LoRez really appreciate you swinging by, and there’s no ill will at all with that deadlift comment. But perhaps now it’s illuminating exactly what I meant on the impact of bodyweight when you see how DRASTICALLY it had changed at that point, haha. You’ve also demonstrated WHY I stopped weighing myself for so long: the scale tells a terrible story, and these numbers get in our heads. I’m weighing myself now, just because I have a weight class to make, but once that is done, so is the scale. But the mirror and the gym can be more honest, and being unhappy with how we look can be reason enough to change. But that speaks to the “why” of the change. When I was losing all the weight, it was merely a consequence of the nutritional choices I had made, and I was so at peace with those choices that when I looked at myself, I simply said “This is what healthy looks like”, and was happy with that. But absent that “why”? I’d have been frustrated for sure, for similar reasons: I built up all that strength and for what? And heck, I still have those moments: I have a video where I pressed 266lbs over my head with an axle and just BARELY missed 276, and I don’t think I’ll ever do what it takes to be that strong again…but also take solace in the fact that I KNOW how to do just that, IF I ever decided I was going to. And that’s what you can take from this experience as well: you now know you are a dude who knows how to lose fat AND put on size, and whenever the priorities shift one way or the other, you can execute the plan.
Regarding the question on the training program name: I stopped buying MtG cards in 98, with “Weatherlight” being the last edition. I’ve purchased a few here and there just to re-light that dopamine response, but that was when I was “officially done”, and at that time, the Phyrexian Dreadnought was THE most powerful card I knew of from a sheer “power/toughness” perspective. As such, it always held a special place in my heart, so when it came time to name a program, I just opted for “biggest and strongest”. A lot of those cards stand out to me. I always liked “Force of Nature” as well, and I have the Yawgmoth Demon blown up into poster size hanging up on my wall, but I kept coming back to the Dreadnought and figured there was a reason I wanted to name it that.
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AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
PHYREXIAN DREADNOUGHT Week 2, Workout 2
30 Minutes EMOM
Round 1: 3x200lb axle zercher squat from the floor
Round 2: 3x185 axle dead incline bench
Round 3: 10x57.5lb KB swing
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
8x405 low handle trap bar pulll
Lateral raise dropset
50 band pull aparts
BREAKFAST
2-ish mile walk w/dog
Notes:
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Took video, but it’s being weird with the upload. I’ll try to get it later.
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First time doing zerchers off the floor. Was a bit of a learning curve. I actually had to youtube it right before the workout, and on the first round I kept my legs wide to squat. After that, I would get the weight in place and then bring my legs in toward my closer squat stance. It then became like pause zerchers, stopping at the bottom to let the axle settle onto my knees and start again. This felt pretty solid, and ideally will help build my ability on the zercher yoke come comp time.
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Combination of zerchers and dead incline was pretty exhausting. The KB swings were honestly an afterthought, but it was good to get in some hip hinge work. I do think, if I did this all again, I’d swap the incline with some axle continental and push press away. Keep the weight the same and do a single instead of a triple. I’m practically deconstructing the Armor Building Complex at this point.
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Piloted my idea of just having 1 topset of trap bar pulls at the end, and it definitely worked better than 10 rounds of it like last time. I was still plenty exhausted coming into it, and a set of 8 was enough. Felt my guts coming up toward the end.
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Took a little longer than I liked warming up and figuring out weights, so assistance work was a little short. I was moving pretty slow this morning. This training is pretty exhausting, and Tang Soo Do is actually being pretty challenging these days, which is a nice change. Tonight will be night 2 of 3.
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Weather is turning hot and the sun was out, so walked longer outside to get in some Vitamin D.
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When you find something that works for you, it’s kind of interesting all the different ways you can fit it.
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very solid effort mate. Quality
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@simo74 Thanks man! Definitely wanted more, but it was a good fatigue measurement.
@TrainForPain It’s funny how infectious it can be, haha. I had no plans for it to happen, but a 3 to 1 squat to press ratio seems to be the golden ratio.
Finally got the video of today’s training, so ya’ll can see my baby bird out of the nest attempts at Zercher squats from the floor
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