Enjoying watching you do this EMOM style of training, it’s definitely intriguing and looks fun. A nice combination of heavy lifting and conditioning to an extent. Will be following along to see how it goes for you, although I’m sure you have experience with this in the past
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Thanks man! Spot on: this is an old staple for me, which is why I brought it back in. It was exactly what I needed to come back from a lay off and get back into “strongman shape”. However, last time I did this, I tore my lat in week 2, which shut down the program, haha. But my body is in a much better way these days.
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Arms and delts looking absolutely jacked in that thumbnail! Always neat to see how you train with a competition on the horizon.
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@creative_name Hey thanks dude! Still showing some of the DoggCrapp gains, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
Prowler
- Bear crawl one length, turn around and low handle push back (unloaded)
- Same with 50lb loaded
- Bear crawl one length, turn around and high handle push back w/90lb loaded
- Same w/140lb loaded
Total time: 40 minutes
BREAKFAST
2-ish mile walk w/dog
Notes:
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Remembered my gloves for this one, which allowed me to get in some bear crawls. Wanted to groove this to get my body used to getting low and forward come time for the truck pull. Found out that it’s REALLY pretty awful and murderous on the body, so that’s a plus. And low handle pushing is always pretty gnarly as well. I’m still going very far distances with these (as far as prowler training goes), and there’s a lot of grit training built into it as a result.
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Tried to focus on short, choppy steps rather than long strides. Once again: trying to make this truck pull applicable.
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Legs feeling pretty good in general. This and the walking seems like good recovery. I’m liking the structure I’ve co-opted from DoggCrapp of 3 days of lifting with cardio/conditioning in between. Seems to get me recovered well.
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Tang Soo Do was another solid workout last night. It’s been a great pivot.
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I’m sleepier than usual. Have to wonder if it’s the reduced food. I saw my metric of leanness come back last night: the vein on my sternum was present. It coincides with me weighing 82.0kg this morning: half a kilo down from earlier in the week.
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I’ll have to try it this way. When I last did these, I started with bar on my elbows from ground and sumo squatted super low to get under it. Your braver than I, I did axle bar once and it destroyed my forearms. They were purple and yellow for a long time.
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Hey I appreciate that! I actually find the axle a lot more gentle than a barbell here, since it’s got the wider diameter to it to further displace the weight. I originally say Brian Alsruhe employ this manner of the zercher squat, and I really dug it. Includes a semi-deadlift in it.
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Okay, you were very wirey Pwn haha.
I find the discussion very interesting @all!
To chime in with my experience: i am not especially muscularly big (yet), but i am tall. Even for my country: 6’8 is tall. I have been pretty fat, ballooned up to 310lbs, but have also cut down (badly) to 220lbs.
Being tall is always a part of who I am. The moments I am not the tallest person in the room are increasing, but still rare. People have been commenting on it as long as I know. I size up to dudes who are around the same height haha. Seems like a very eye opening experience to lose some height for once! Heck, even the experience of cutting down to 220lbs was life changing: girls started noticing me!
We are our bodies in a weird and complex way.
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@Panopticum Really appreciate you sharing that! It is interesting how much we take on being “the guy” in our lives and social interactions, and how it can impact things. I honestly never cared to be identified by my physique, primarily because I was a fat kid growing up, and I learned how to use comedy to my advantage. I was always “the funny guy”, and I LIKED being that, but once I got into training and changed my physique, people would just write me off as a meathead. I have to work hard to get folks to view me otherwise. And maybe I found dropping down so skinny liberating in that regard: I could finally shake off those shackles.
I’m curious: being so tall, do you find that you have to “lower” yourself around others? I’ve known a lot of tall folks that have a smaller presence: shoulders hunched/slumped, small posture, small voice. I tend to be the opposite being almost a full foot shorter than you at 5’9: people often think I’m at least 6’ tall because I end up having a “big presence”.
AM WORKOUT (0410 wake up via alarm)
PHYREXIAN DREADNOUGHT Week 2, Workout 3
30 minutes, EMOM
Round 1: 8x185 SSB squats
Round 2: 2-3x175 log viper press
Round 3: 3x60 chins
Finish with max SSB squats w/135lb in 3 minutes (40 reps total)
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
50 band pull aparts
100 Axle (Poundstone) Curls
50 band pushdowns
BREAKFAST
Longer walk w/dog (sub 2 miles)
Notes:
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My theory that the zercher squats on the middle day would preserve my lower back compared to trap bar pulls proved incorrect: my lower back was absolutely fried when I attempted SSB squats against bands, so I went with the previous week’s pivot and went with “bodyweight” on the SSB squat for sets of 8 across. Definitely had an impact on me, because this workout was exhausting, and by round 3 I already was curious if I would survive.
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Which is why I went with sets of 2-3 on the viper press. I got through 3 full rounds of 3s, went with a 2 for round 4, sought to alternate between 2s and 3s each round, but on round 8 and 9 I got 2s, and on the final round I went for a 3 but lost it due to grip spacing. All of that said, I realized today that I haven’t had headspins or blackouts on the log this entire training block, which is an outstanding development. I believe I’ve gotten my electrolyte supplementation sorted out, which is basically to always include a little sprinkle of the stuff in all the water I drink, along with some intentional supplementation early in the morning and late at night.
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Chins were hot garbage today. Not sure why. Tang Soo Do has been turning up the heat this week, and 3 classes in a row might have accumulated some fatigue (could also be why my lower back is stressed). Ended up changing the grips a bunch.
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Still like what I’ve stolen from Juggeryoke on the max squats for 3 minutes. Good finisher for this day and a lead in to the weekend.
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I was completely wiped out when this was all over, so the assistance work was pretty limited. I knew, intellectually, I needed to get in some rows, but I just had nothing in me for them.
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My dog isn’t handling the heat too well, so I kept the walk a little shorter. Tang Soo Do last night was another solid workout. And next week is sparring, so 3 nights in a row of that should be solid.
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Really big and fun weekend. We’re doing essentially a county fair tonight (Turkey leg time!), seeing “Inside Out 2” on Saturday, and Father’s Day on Sunday is going to include a meal at Texas De Brazil, and ideally a nice long family walk.
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Always the best kind of update! My 14 yo is so excited to watch inside out 2, which is great, she might be getting to those harder teenage years but still some of the fun “childish” stuff to enjoy. I ended up chasing her and her boyfriend, and my son round a park the other day and it was nice to see some innocence still there!
Good to see you excited to train for a comp again, good signs!
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I got to this point of the sentence and was so worried it was going to end with “with a shotgun”, and was delighted to see the innocent turn, haha. Appreciate you swinging by dude! And very much appreciate the comments. Spot on: my head is in such a better space now than it was a few years back. I keep healing, and it just keeps getting better as I do. The Mrs has remarked how much she enjoys watching me enjoy things again.
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Haha, not quite at that stage, fortunately - I vividly remember being a 14 year old boy, and from what I see it seems more innocent than that, I’m probably naive but happily so he seems like a nice kid, but definitely in need of a father figure, not volunteering but nice to see the response when there is some positive male input. All that being said there was an “in jest” thinly veiled threat about keeping it in his pants!
Such a joy to read this sort of update, always great to read the training stuff but the real life improvements matter so much more, I remember learning the word ennui from your journal, I’m glad I haven’t seen it here in a while!
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That was exactly my concern, haha. And even if you don’t volunteer to be a father figure for this kid, you setting a positive example of masculinity for your daughter is huge as well. She’s going to model what a man “should be” off you, and you’re doing an outstanding job of that. And I tend to be a great source of learning new words, haha. Definitely been an absence of ennui for a while now…and it’s actually one of the new emotions in Inside Out 2!
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I think this is a really interesting point. I know I’m not tall but not that short (5’8") but I’ve never had anyone actually call me short (besides some light ribbing for not being able to see over a fence with my feet on the ground). I definitely have always had the big posture and not slumped shoulders because in freshman year in highschool I had trouble with keeping posture up in practice. So I decided to walk and sit with really good posture 24/7 because there’s no way that wouldn’t make me stronger overall. I definitely don’t have a small voice because my family is a bunch of yappers so being loud was how you were able to get a quip in for something stupid someone said.
Not that height actually matters outside of basketball, strongman, and online dating profiles. Just made me think lol
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I’ve been summoned?
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@freshyfresh Funny how these things develop. And height ALSO matters when getting into airplanes, so ya know, it goes both ways.
@kdjohn I was just thinking about you the other day brother! Hope all is well. Always a joy when you swing by.
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And cars. Had to give up on driving a Porsche. I shoehorned myself into a Corvette for two years before my wife finally asked me one day if I was forcing it. Can’t imagine adding a few more inches to my height.
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Good question! Well, I am pretty loud for my culture, but not that much for my social surroundings. I have been told a few times on jobs and certain other events that I might need to tone it down a bit because i am big enough: my presence was seen as intimidating and too loud.
I hate getting such feedback. I get in my shell because of it, and I dont flourish, get “smaller” because of it.
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I love this so much - for you and also for her! I love seeing my man all lit up with joy and passion. It lights me up, too.
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@dchris Very true on cars. I have to deal with getting my feet in and out, since I wear a size 12 at 5’9. I can only imagine having MORE of me to deal with.
@Panopticum Appreciate you sharing that! I’m sure it must be frustrating to have people expect you to shrink down when you’ve been blessed with such height.
@EmilyQ Always means so much to have you come by and share those thoughts. And absolutely: it’s been awesome being able to share these moments together.
Got in my usual activity for the weekend, family got in a 3.75 mile walk, and did my mat pulls in my pajamas
(5) Axle Mat Pulls
8+4+4x426
Notes:
- This felt rough. My lower back is still pretty stiff, and breaking the weight was tough…but I did it, which is huge. Being able to fight through that initial pull was big, because I’ve been getting hung up. I think a little bit better fatigue management will carry me far come comp time.
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Nice work. Yeah, that looked rough too.
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