Absolutely. Zero regrets and no guilt: I’m already feeling so much better now than I have all week.
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Operation Conan Nightly SITREP
Bringing back the classic of breakfast for dinner while ALSO polishing off the leftovers: 3 omelets, with 3 pastured eggs, jarlsburg swiss, grassfed ghee and white meat turkey, topped with grassfed sour cream, along with 2 pieces of beef bacon, 1 piece of sugar free pork bacon, an organic grassfed beef hot dog, grassfed cottage cheese and cracklin.
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Love seeing your meals every day man, its super motivating to me for next time I try to gain weight. Just eating like an absolute monster!
I’m curious and feel free to not answer but: cost wise, how does eating this way compare to your previous diets? You’re eating some high quality stuff so also curious if you’re picking up from a store or ordering.
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Much appreciated dude! This is SO less expensive compared to how I used to eat. I’m only eating one meal a day, and it’s all single ingredient foods. No frankenfoods where I have to shop at 3 different stores to get all the stuff I want and it all rots and expires because it’s made of bizarre ingredients (hello keto bread/bagels), no having to order crazy non-sugar sweeteners at a premium from some one-off online vendor, no treats, snacks, goodies, etc. Same thing with my weekends now: I’ve stopped eating lunch, so I’m saving a ton!
The piedmontese I order online, but everything else I pick up from our stores here.
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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
OPERATION CONAN Spec Ops Insertion Phase
Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Specificity Bravo, Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 4/5
WARM UP
Roll out on LAX ball (needed this today, right glute has acted up a bit from TSD)
50x90 reverse hypers
Bodyweight jumps squats
Squat sets of Bar, 85, 195, 245
MAIN WORK
Buffalo Bar Squat
4x8x305
Axle strict press
4x8x136 (rest pause final set)
Axle bench press
4x8x203
Low handle trap bar lift
10x430
ASSISTANCE
HLR
1x10
Standing ab wheel
1x10
BREAKFAST
No walk w/dogs (schedule)
Notes:
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Since I slept through yesterday’s training and have the grappling competition on Sunday that I want to be fresh for, I truncated the two final workouts together and just did the important parts. Got in the squats, press and bench, and then went for max reps on the trap bar using the RX weight for the week. “Max reps” is underselling it, as I COULD have pulled more if I really wanted to, but the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.
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On the topic of the pulls, the fact I could get 10 reps in at the end of the workout with the fatigue I was under is an incredibly positive sign. I also still chuckle at the people that act like it’s illegal to squat and deadlift in the same workout.
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Kept strict 1 minute rests for the first 3 sets of the squat, then let it drift a little. I gave myself ample time, while still sub 2 minutes, on the press. Bench was kept strict. In general, I took this whole workout a little slower, once again to avoid getting too dorked up before Sunday. It’s one of the big reasons I DO like to compete: it helps put governors on me.
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Not incredibly pleased with the depth of the final rep of the squats. Something I need to watch out for.
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Weighed in at 82.7kg post workout, so I continue to be in a good spot.
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Went to the dentist yesterday and had my blood pressure clocked at 107/66. Given I am effectively a pillar of salt as far as my nutrition goes, that’s absolutely outstanding.
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Tang Soo Do last night started out fairly physically challenging. Had some good opportunity to continue to open up my hips with kicks. Also brought out the staff again for some training. Good variety.
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Operation Conan Nightly SITREP
This is what you get to do when you’re at no risk of busting weight for weigh in. Full rack of ribs, some scrambled eggs, pulled pork and grassfed cottage cheese.
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Operation Conan SITREP and AAR
Got some of the best sleep I’ve ever gotten on a weekend before. For some reason, I sleep through the night on weekdays and wake up frequently on weekends, but last night I only got up twice, and woke up around 0700. We got out of bed around 0800, I got in my 50 prisoner squats and push ups, Valkryie made me an amazing breakfast, and then I took the dogs for a 3+ mile walk.
Fasted through lunch, got some chores done, and we caught a play before dinner. Wanted to keep it simple the night before the comp, so we went to Culver’s and I got 6 burger patties that I topped with butter and salt.
My kiddo got halfway through their double cheddar burger, so I had the rest of those patties as well, so about 7 total. Weighed in after my shower at 84.2kg, so I can still make weight on a full day of food, but I’d prefer to not have to get completely naked to do it.
It’s just me and one other guy in my division, and we’ll do best of 3. I’m good with that.
Oh yeah, also, I hit one of my favorite bulking benchmarks yesterday: The Valkyrie, unprompted, told me “You’re looking really big”. That tends to happen right as I’ve hit my stride.
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Set an alarm for 0700, got up, did my squats and push ups and got in my traditional warrior’s breakfast of steak and eggs.
Time to go weigh in and make it official.
EDIT: 185.6 in full sweats. With the 1lb allowance I am good. Score. Now we wait.
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Looking forward to hearing about the competition!
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Did you at least throw the second match so you could get your moneys worth? Congrats man!
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@dchris Hah! The opposite: I broke him so hard he never came out for our third! Details to follow.
Alright, I might do a bigger write up sometime, but lemme get to the matches. I lost the first by guillotine choke, won the second with an americana (no shock there) and won the third by forfeit
The dude I was competing against chatted with my briefly before the match. He asked where I trained out of and I said “I don’t…but I wrestled in high school”. Well he relayed that to his coach, who stereotyped the hell out of me and kept yelling “He’s going to hunt for the shot! Watch out for the shot!”
Fun fact: I never shot in wrestling. I was terrible at it.
But, that said, after too much time standing, we were warned that if we didn’t have a takedown in the next 15 seconds, they were going to implement some sort of “get down” rule. I’ll admit I panicked upon hearing that, and decided to go for a takedown. He responded by sinking a standing guillotine that was VERY locked in. I got a little upset because I was violently tapping him and the ref was just ignoring it for nearly too long before finally someone from the audience yelled “He’s been tapping for a while”.
Upon reflection, there was no need to go for that takedown, because I realize, in all of these tournaments, I have NEVER felt threatened when I’ve been on the ground. I may not have much in the way of offense there, but no one has ever put me in a threatened position. So from here on out, I’ll make them play my stupid game of standing until something happens, and if we get forced to the ground, even better.
I DID benefit from that first round though. Got to feel him out, determine he wasn’t stronger than me, nor did he have better cardio than me.
That came into play for the second match. I decided to just be a bully this time. I came out aggressive, shoved him, secured a thai clinch, which was of no value whatsoever but still cool, and forced my will on him. At one point, we nearly repeated the same ending as before, with him locking in a guillotine, and it got me angry and I said to myself in my head “no this time motherf*cker!” He pulled guard on me, and that’s where I was better able to work my “magic”.
I got out of the guillotine, and then just kept pressuring him as much as I could. He went for a triangle, but I never felt threatened by it, and I just kept stacking and pressuring him. Whenever I was in his guard, I’d put my weight on him, and I noticed that, whenever I got a forearm across his throat, he REALLY didn’t like that. He’d panic and give up position. So, of course, I kept doing it.
Just like my other 2 competitions, I could feel the exact moment that his energy and strength left him, while I still felt dandy. In my head I said “You seem tired: I can do this all day”. I guess I’m a nasty person inside my head. I eventually wore him down to the point that he could no longer put up any resistance, at which point I locked in an Americana I had been hunting for for the whole match.
Come time for the third match, and his corner informed me he wouldn’t be coming out. I had exhausted him so much he didn’t want to do a third with me. I had noticed between the first and the second match his fatigue level was already pretty heavy, and it seems he reached his limit.
What’s cool is, on my record for this organization, it categorizes that final win as “win by KO”
Definitely jazzed by my performance. I came in wanting to win just 1 match, and I did exactly that…and then another, haha.
Tagging @twojarslave for another win by Goon-fu.
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Massive congratulations. Getting a KO in a grappling match is an awesome thing to claim, haha.
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It would appear as though you just encountered “strong enough” on match 1. Sort of like the barbell strength disparity between my coach and I. I could usually goon him a bit but never enough. That was a stout dude with good balance and everything he needed to stuff your efforts.
Okay same dude match 2. Great non-technical goon guillotine escape. Fortunately you prepared with SSB squats and similar efforts. Good job listening to your coaches on the triangle and armbar escape. They had the right idea for you at that moment. You’re just being a frustrating and unpredictable bully while you’re hanging out in his guard, which is lovely because it looks like your conditioning is coming into play. “Strong enough” isn’t there for your opponent anymore.
You took side control and forced the Americana without much problem at all. So easy an American can do it!
You broke his spirit bro. Awesome, awesome job.
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Great vids, congrats on that guillotine escape and the continual pressure. Getting into mount towards end of round 2 would have opened up many more options for you to dominate, but you had him by this point already conditioning wise!
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Solid work! Your opponent seemed like a strong enough guy. I’m sure he was caught off guard by a stronger and better conditioned opponent. Way to pass the guard and get the Americana.
Gotta feel good to know you can beat on people who have been training consistently for some time and beat them with basic knowledge, lot of strength and conditioning.
We have a bell at one of the schools I go to. If anyone taps due to being tired, smothered or wrist locked… it’s always an embarrassing moment for folks and very rare. I can’t imagine just not wanting to even try. Way to steal his soul.
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@PowPowPunishment Thanks so much man! I’m definitely going to brag about that forever, haha.
@twojarslave Always appreciate the breakdown when you swing by. Strong enough was definitely something I ran into at the start, just as you noted, and eventually got to see it fade away when the cardio ran out. Funny those variables at play. I dug you calling my wife and kid my “coaches”, haha. I was SO tempted to Bob Sapp slam my way out of that triangle, but chose to be nicer.
I actually dig your thought process on the SSB for that guillotine escape: upon reflection, that’s absolutely what happened.
@raven78 Thanks so much man! Man, I wasn’t even THINKING about getting the mount, you’re absolutely right. I was so focused on just making a tap happen.
@dchris Thanks dude! It really is a blast to show up to these things without any real prep and still be able to cause trouble, hold my own and even win on occasion. It’s a pretty big confidence boost in being able to handle myself if I need to. And it’s definitely a blast to force people to play my stupid game and wear them down until I can do something, haha.
Operation Conan nightly SITREP
We hit up the buffet again in celebration. I got myself 2 steaks, and then 5 eggs at the hibachi bar with even MORE beef, shrimp and crab, and then a serving of some fish (salmon and tilapia I think), octopus, shrimp, and oysters. I went for another round and got some more ocean life.
Steak and eggs for breakfast, and steak and eggs for dinner. That’s absolutely a warrior’s day of eating.
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It really is, and people who grapple but have never seriously lifted weights can’t always comprehend why lifting/conditioning and gym time can constitute preparation just the same as any amount of mat time.
Edit: Here’s a fun writing project if you ever find yourself bored and wondering how you can connect your lifting to your grappling. You’ve certainly progressed your grappling to a level of basic competence, but you are extraordinarily fluent in the language of lifting.
Explain what you did on the mats in terms of lifts, as best as you can. For a starting point of what I mean, you escaped that triangle setup by posturing up as you would in a SSB squat.
Strength is never a disadvantage and you continue to be a very interesting example of why that is true with your mat performances.
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Dont comment much but always following along. Great job on the comp brother. Nothing like a bit of raw strength and conditioning to really ruin someones day.
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Wrestling in high school isn’t really a thing in Australia. Wish it was…out Hugh school systems just do not prioritise sports and physical activity like American schools.
That was great watching those mate, enjoyed that second one. You can see his will dissolving as it went on longer and longer. There is a point there around 2:40 that you can tell it’s over for him, he just didn’t know it.
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