Nice squats!
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Any Alshru Conjugate style program should be cool. Conjugate āworksā because you work on strength(Max Effort), power (dynamic effort)and muscle mass (repetition effort) every week.
Dark Horse is crazy because you do all 3, each day. Instead of 2 dynamic effort and 2 max effort days per week, itās 4 DE + ME sessions per week. Like double the barbell volume of every other conjugate program.
This is just my opinion, but I think Dark Horse crushes you too fast. With so much work, you survive till the end and move to something else. With āregularā conjugate programs you do everything you do in DarkHorse, just a little less. So you can run those programs for months and months and really allow the program to work on your body.
But again, thatās just me. Many guys like the focused challenge of a super tough, limited time frame, ass-kicking program.
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@shaneinga Hey thanks man! I donāt hear that often.
@FlatsFarmer Always appreciate you swinging by and dropping the knowledge.
Had to share this shower thought I had: Alphabet workout
13 workouts, 2 movements per day, 2 week cycle. Train M-Sat for the first week, Sunday off, then 7 days on.
Pick movements or muscles based off letter of the alphabet, in order.
Example
Day 1:
Arm-Back
Day 2:
Chest-Deltoids
Day 3:
Erectors-Front Squats
Day 4:
Glutes-hamstrings
Day 5:
Isometrics-Jumps
Etc etc.
PAIR IT WITH THE ABCDE DIET!
If you do the traditional 2 week underfeed/2 week overfeed approach, it would mean each alphabet cycle would map directly onto the nutritional phase.
In THAT regard, you could make hardfast rules, like, during underfeeding we focus on movements, and during overfeeding we focus on muscles.
Yes, these are the things I think about in the shower
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Awesome short term idea for in between programs or something. Donāt see enough of those ideas out there, everything is in longer blocks
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great explanation, thank you
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@Stormblessed Thanks man! Whatās cool is, it really COULD be run indefinitely if someone so chose, or it COULD Just be a 2 week shake up. Iād have to come up with some way to figure out set and rep scheme. Iām a fan of die rolling, of course, but maybe thereās some other way to get the alphabet involved there.
Got in 3 walks today total, thanks to the new puppy, and spent the whole day rebuilding the fence that fell over in the storm, which meant I had a protein sparing modified fast all the way to dinner. We went to that same buffet I mentioned last week. This time I had a plan. That said, they actually had some different items on the line, which sadly meant NOT having the steak, but I still wasnāt short of amazing carnivore options. I was able to eat to the point of enjoyment but NOT physical illness, which is a win. LOTS of great quality protein sources.
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Iāve been lurking, will come out of the woodwork when I see fit.
I see fit.
I saw some fitness guy in my TikTok feed (so it must be true) say that the percentage of the population than can function at a high level on less than eight hours of sleep, rounded up to the nearest percentage, is zero.
Lack of sleep contributes to elevated cortisol levels, you grow when you sleep.
I would encourage you to get more sleep.
Besides, itās awesome!
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I very much appreciate that encouragement and you coming back.
What recommendations do you have to accomplish this? After 6 hours, I am awake, alert and find myself unabble to sleep more. I simply lay in bed and rest.
When Mom is away and Carnivore Dad gets to make breakfast on Saturday morning. Guess which plate is mine, haha. We split a piedmontese grassfed New York Strip, I had 5 pastured eggs vs their 2, with some grassfed ghee, beef bacon for me, pork for them, and some cut up all grassfed beef hot dogs.
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Hmmmā¦
Both? 
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@tlgains Youāre not TOO far off, haha. My kiddo put away most of the bacon, half of the steak and some of the eggs, so I took down the rest of their plate along with mine.
Another awesome weekend day. Since the Valkyrie had to go away early, breakfast was up to me, so I whipped out my Ninja Gridle and cooked up a 10oz grassfed piedmontese New York Strip, 3 slices of beef bacon, 3 grassfed organic beef hot dogs (Iām bougie like that), some no sugar added reduced sodium bacon for the kiddo, 5 pastured eggs with grassfed ghee and jarlsburg swiss for me, 2 pastured eggs for the kiddo, and a few others odds and ends for the in-laws.
Once breakfast was accomplished, took the dogs for a 1.5 mile walk, and then got in my mat pulls
(2) Texas Deadlift Bar Mat Pulls
10+5+3x425
My hip is feeling BETTER than it was last week, but I can still trigger the nerve pain. My second and third pulls were actually better than my first, as I was fishing-rod-ing the first one but much more stable/sturdy on the second and third.
After THAT, we all went to the air show, which was hours of walking around in the hot sun. Got some good exposure, no sunblock, and fasted the entire time. My rule was, if there were turkey legs, Iād eat oneā¦there were no turkey legs. I wasnāt hungry and nothing looked enticing. Thatās food freedom: I love it.
I also did 14 dead hang chin ups at the Marine Corps recruiting booth and won a shaker bottleā¦and honestly, thatās embarrassing. I could always knock out 20 no sweat, and Iām lighter now than Iāve been in a while. I definitely need to prioritize those in my next training phase.
When we got BACK, I did something I always wanted: ate an entire rack of ribs from our favorite local BBQ place. I picked up dinner for the family, and that was my pick, and I even got a side of pulled pork from my kiddo. I topped many of the ribs with either ghee or grassfed sour cream. Was a fantastic meal, great way to round out the day. And I even got in some throws after dinner while taking out the trash.
I really dig days like this. Big hearty breakfast, lots of low intensity activity, one big hard workout for 5 minutes, no lunch, big dinner. This is how I want to live forever one day.
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The whole day sounds fantastic.
When will you know when this point has arrived?
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Much appreciated dude!
When I am retired. Until then: gotta make money.
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Sorry man I keep replying to every one of your posts lately but youāre bringing up great topics! Iāve thought about this exact thing for awhile and end up doing it on weekends where I have plans pretty often but never really put it into wordsā¦
You almost get two rounds of fasted activity in a day. Workout ā huge breakfast ā whatever activity for the day ā huge dinner OR light activity ā huge breakfast ā workout ā daytime activity ā huge dinner. Thanks for putting this into writing. I definitely feel great on days like this too.
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I havenāt exactly caught up on everything here but I made it to this.
Whatās the format and level of competition this time?
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@Stormblessed Never be sorry for replying to my posts: I love the discussion! You nailed it: solid combination of fasting and feasting. So much more preferable to the 3 squares.
@twojarslave Good to have you swing by! This is the same ruleset as the last one: submission only. 8 minute single round with an overtime option. Whereas I competed as a novice before, this will be as a white belt.
But thatās all assuming I even get to compete: so far there is no one in my division/weight class. I MAY get combined into another, but another option is they just give me a refund. Iāll see what happens. Been having bad luck with competitions.
Today was light. Got in my morning push ups and squats, made breakfast for the family (6 egg omelet for myself, with some venison roast, piedmontese steak, grassfed ghee and jarlsburg swiss topped with grassfed sour cream, alongside some grassfed cottage cheese, and a some slices of a grassfed beef hot dog then made all sorts of meats and eggs for the kiddo and in-laws) while we waiting for the Valkyrie to return. Took the dog for a 1.5 mile walk, did chores, let the temp creep up to over 100 degrees ambient and 109 in the āfeels likeā and decided it was getting too dangerous to train.
Lunch was 4 burger patties from Culverās, topped with butter, and then the leftover burger patties with cheddar from my kiddo.
Iāve gotten into the āstupid leanā category of leanness these past few days. Iāve noticed that correlates with me sticking primarily with beef and eggs, keeping light on the pork, chicken, and dairy. Definitely some takeaways there.
That said, for dinner, whipped up a triple venison burger with Jarlsburg swiss, bacon, some grassfed sour cream on chaffle buns next to some pork cracklin and grassfed cottage cheese.
Also had most of one of my kidās grassfed beef patties that they didnāt finish.
I am trying my best to put a little quality weight back on before my competitions. I honestly DO like being this lean, but it doesnāt correlate to being as strong as I need to be right now.
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Awesome. IMO you shouldnāt hesitate to go up in a weight class for it or even move up to blue belt level, if they are going by belts and allow you to. My $0.02 is to just be an athletic handful like you were last time. Try not to let them settle into any kind of pin or back control. Do what you know how to do and keep standing back up at every opportunity.
Your Americana works. Have weapon - Will hunt. Iām looking forward to the report!
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Man, you brought a BIG smile to my face there. I love it. Much appreciated! If I get a chance to scrap, I absolutely will.
Is this anything set in stone (i.e., sets and reps) or whatever you feel like doing on a given morning?
Good luck on getting a few folks in your bracket for the upcoming grappling tournament. If no one shows up, is there another appropriate division you could compete in or would you be out of luck this time around?
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Its going to depend on how the folks running it decide.
Appreciate the support dude! You asked about the push ups and squats before: itās rounds of 15 prisoner squats and 10 push ups while my wife puts in her contacts and gets ready. I get in anywhere between 3 to 8 rounds depending on the morning
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AM WORKOUT (0435 wake up via alarm, slept in due to schedule)
PHYREXIAN DREADNOUGHT Phase 4, Week 5, Workout 1
Axle clean and press away w/116
2-3-5-10 strict
2-3-5 strict
4+2 push
2-3 strict
SSB Front Squats
3xBar
2x115
1x135
1x185
Noped out of the rest
ASSISTANCE
3x10 standing ab wheel
5x7 chins, 2x5 chins (various grips)
Some axle shrugs w/average bands
100 axle poundstone curls
50 band pull aparts
Dips+ push ups dropset (using reactive slingshot, slingshot, and metal catapult)
BREAKFAST
Moderate walk w/both dogs
Notes:
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Wheels totally fell off today. Didnāt bother saving the recording. I think between the excessive heat (we got up to over 110, with stupid humidity yesterday), building fences, airshows, etc, my body was just toast. I could press just fine, but squatting was a nightmare. All of my joints hurt, and my hip kept flaring up. I was in pain just trying to rack the 265 I was going to attempt, and I tried some follow ons with lighter weight, and each time my body told me ānoā. Looking at where I am with my training, I realize itās been quite a while since Iāve had a deload, and I do think Iām seeing the impact of how hard I worked on my Zenos on Friday. I may be competing on Saturday, and I have a strongman competition 2 weeks after that. Iām not going to get a whole lot stronger between then and now, but I can definitely get more hurt, so I just called it and focused on the upper body work.
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I have my walk tomorrow, which should help with restoration. Family meal tonight too, which Iām sure will have some positives. Weighed in at 80.9kg, so Iām at least moving the scale in the right direction.
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Iām thinking, moving forward, capping Zenos at 10s vs my traditional 14, and increasing weight for the next round by 10-15 vs my traditional 40-50. I have a few other ideas circulating around that Iāll need to jot down at some point.
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