Congratulations on your tournament.
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@twojarslave Thanks once again for those kind words, and thatās certainly an exciting idea. I may have to undertake it. Itād be tough, because Iām relying a lot on just wrestling instinct when Iām out there, and then the lifting just helps amplify it. I may dig a little deeper.
@simo74 Love it when you swing by dude, and thatās incredibly well put, haha. āLetās go out there and make someone have a bad dayā
@wiseman83 Wrestling is definitely the biggest favor I ever did for myself growing up. Itās a shame to hear itās not present in Aus. And you nailed it with the dissolving will. Having my wife as my corner was helpful, because she yelled āHeās getting tired!ā, and I could see the look of defeat in his face when he realized it was obvious to the outside that he was fatiguing, haha. Itās really been the most eye opening part of these competitions: I can FEEL the opponent getting tired and weak, and itās when I know how to strike. Itās like when Homer Simpson boxed: just let the other guy wear themselves out on me, and then shove them.
Slept in this morning. I had my workout gear all set up, but Iām a little beat up from the grappling comp, and decided that trying to force my way through a lifting workout was going to do more harm than good. Nothing torn, bruised, ruptured, etc, but Iāve got some pinched nerves and my left intercostal muscles are a little sore, and I know all of that would have forced me into bizarre movement patterns to compensate. The competition is over, and the next one isnāt until April: Iām in no rush.
And, given that I woke up with my skin looking like a set of dockers that had been wadded up in a suitcase for an international flight, apparently I slept DEEP, so it was good that I go that.
Itās really been nice to be competing again. It gives me a vector to train for, and gets me less obsessed over things like physique and bio markers. Iām not peeled, but Iām lean āenoughā, and I know that, when the time comes, I can be peeled again. Iām feasting so much Iām actually getting OVER feasting, which has also been awesome. I think, at this point, my next white whale is trying to reclaim my pressing strength, but NOT at the expense of everything else, like Iāve done in the past. I feel like Iām striking a solid balance between training without obsessing over it, eating the way I want without feeling like Iām restricting myself, pursuing the physical activity I want, and balancing all of this with life. If I were independently wealthy, I think the only changes Iād make are that Iād walk more, use my smoker more, and train martial arts more, and specifically, Iād keep my same amount of TSD, since thatās family time, but Iād want to train other martial arts on top of what Iām doing. And those are just wants: my soul isnāt suffocating without all this.
Going to move the lifting to Tues/Weds, then conditioning Thurs, Lift Fri, then try to get in a lift on Sat or Sun to get back on schedule.
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Itās a really good feeling to just make someone give up.
These are just so interesting to me so of course I had to watch again.
Homeboy really wouldnāt give up on trying to break your posture down in guard. A lot of that is sort of like pitting his dumbbell row against your deadlift, which is to say itās a losing battle. It is quite possible heās never attempted to break someoneās posture down who is just so damn strong before. Itās also possible he is often working with a strength edge where he trains.
He definitely had some game and was working methodically on you, going for the big 3 from no-gi guard. Kimura, triangle and armbar were all being threatened, but I didnāt see too many sweep attempts. He seemed to want to be in guard.
Out of everything he put together Iād say you were closest to being armbarred at 1:05 when he had your left arm cradled, but it doesnāt look like he tried to pounce on that. His mind was on the triangle and breaking down your posture.
Thereās also no shame in the Americana, which is my favorite joint attack because you can work it while maintaining a good position in either side control or mount. Letās also face it, being strong AF means you can force it too.
You wonāt get many colored belts with it, but boy does it work great outside of really good grapplers.
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Iāll be on paternity leave from now until June 1, with the exception of 1/6-2/7. What you described is basically my life right now. I am walking more, grilling, enjoying sitting outside, playing with kids and training Jiu Jitsu 4-5 days a week.
Itās a very simple and enjoyable life.
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@twojarslave I love that I can provide you something fascinating to watch, haha, and the breakdowns help me learn. You had a good assessment there too: he seemed like he wanted to keep guard and not move for anything more aggressive, and he REALLY wanted that triangle, which is partially why I just wanted to slam the bejesus out of him. I felt myself in a few vulnerable positions, but felt like it was like sacrificing a pawn, only for him to never really capitalize on them in the first place. Youāre most likely correct: heās used to being āthe strong guyā, so it was a change for him. We were masters, and looking at the non-masters dudes in my weight class, they were all quite a bit more wirey, which also meant they were taller. Seems us masters tend to fill out more, haha.
@dchris You summed up what I hope to retire to someday, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0400 Wake up via alarm, deep sleep)
OPERATION CONAN Spec Ops Insertion Phase
Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Specificity Bravo, Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 1
WARM UP (rushed)
Roll out on LAX ball
25 bw reverse hypers
BW jump squats
Squat sets w/bar, 85, 135
MAIN WORK
Buffalo Bar Squat
5x12x210
Lever Belt Squat
5x12x180
Axle strict press
4x12x93
Axle bench press
4x12x143
(3) Incline DB bench
5x12x45s
Dips
5x12xBW
ASSISTANCE
HLR/hand pull apart circuit (no rest between sets)
3x10/20
TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 56 minutes
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dogs
Notes:
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Very strict 1 minute rests. I would turn around to face the squat bar after 45 seconds had passed.
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Warm up was rushed because, right before I was going to start, I heard it announced that the dog had thrown up, so we had to resolve a minor crisis. Thankfully, my body is healed up again to the point that I no longer NEED the warm-up.
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Squats felt the best theyāve felt this whole training cycle. Really just springy and upright. Itās nice to have these light weight breaks.
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Playing around this cycle as far as set total goes. I went for 5 sets on the lower body work, because there isnāt a whole lot of it. I also went 5 sets on the DB incline and dips, because I didnāt up the weights on them. I upped weights on press and bench, so kept sets at 4. Seems a good balance on progression.
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Iāve definitely grown in strength from the previous cycle. I was failing reps on the press, bench, DBs and dips first time through on this. Good to be able to witness the progression.
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I AM experiencing some training burnout. I am excited about training when the evening comes, but when I wake up in the morning, itās not something I want to do. Iām sure a big part of it is pushing that bridge week so far to my cruise. Next few cycles will be a bit more reasonable in that regard. Also a slight bit of ennui since the grappling competition is over.
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On that note, my body feels pretty good. It was the right call to take the day off yesterday. The pinched nerves are healed up. Intercostal muscle is still a little tender.
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I had my first carb-up meal in a while last night. My most recent one before that was Thanksgiving, and in truth that one wasnāt terribly carby: I had a roll, a little bit of stuffing, a small amount of corn casserole and 2 slices of pumpkin cheesecake. Last night, we did Tuna Casserole, and I made sure to have 2 prodigious portions of it, and then 1 very substantial slice of pumpkin cheesecake with some honey drizzled on top. Consequently, I had quite a significant pump in the pecs after the dips today. Iāve noticed my physique looking pretty washed out recently, so I imagine this will rectify that. Itās nice to be at a point where the carbs do have a benefit to me when consumed appropriately.
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Tang Soo Do is on the agenda tonight. Itās one-step self defense, so Iām going to move a bit slowly through it to account for some tenderness from the comp.
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Oh you were in MANY vulnerable positions, but like you said, itās all a matter of whether or not he could sense it and capitalize on it. Triangles seem to be one of those things where brute strength really makes it tougher. My coach was the only one to ever reliably triangle me, and he would always achieve them pretty quickly without much setup when he did. Like jumping through a window I leave open rather than trying to pry your way in.
In other words, heād land them without the posture battle you engaged in while also trapping a leg and/or breaking me down further to make posturing up not happen before I go dark. Your opponent was definitely working your left leg for similar reasons, but obviously couldnāt put it all together.
The greased monkey aspect of no-gi makes it even tougher to lock a triangle in and more windows to just brute force out of stuff. Same with armbars.
You would be a really, really big hit at my coachās coachās school in the big city. They would all take so much delight in unleashing you on blue and purple belts.
This is it people. This is the person youāve trained to beat for the last 6 years.
Edit: Hereās an awesome clip of how those sudden triangles I am talking about can take shape, unfortunately I could only find crappy video on a facebook link. He sees the window and leaps through it.
This guy is my coachās coachās first black belt and an incredible martial artist Iāve been lucky enough to spar with. Video was from Fight 2 Win Pro in Boston a few years ago. Heās only maybe 145 in this video and his opponent never got the opportunity to escape because he broke the posture down right away.
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@twojarslave Appreciate the video! Can definitely observe the significance of experience and training there. āLeapt through the windowā indeed!
Operation Conan Nightly SITREP
A classic surf and turf and turf and turf. I made a 10oz grassfed piedmontese New York strip for myself and one for the kiddo, and a 4oz grassfed piedmontese Filet Mignon for the Valkyrieā¦knowing full well the kiddo wasnāt going to make it all the way through, so I had about half of their steak as well, and then the Valkyrie was a bit under the weather, so I had half of hers too. I also topped mine with grassfed ghee, which is also what is on top of those 5 pastured hard boiled eggs, alongside some water packed sardines, grassfed cottage cheese and cracklin.
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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
OPERATION CONAN Spec Ops Insertion Phase
Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Specificity Bravo, Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 2
WARM UP
Roll out on LAX ball
50xBW reverse hypers
Sets of 135 and 225 low handle trap bar pull
MAIN WORK
Low handle trap bar lift
5x12x295
NG chins
5x12 (rest as long as needed)
Axle Curls
5x12x53
GHRs
4x12x25lb KB held behind head
Reverse hypers
3x12x360
1x15x360 (AMRAP)
ASSISTANCE
Standing ab wheel/band pull apart superset
3x10/20
Lateral raise dropset
35x10, 35x5, 35x2.5, 35xEmpty Hands
TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 60 minutes
BREAKFAST
No walk w/dogs (weather)
Notes:
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Training motivation much higher than yesterday, most likely correlating with getting more sleep.
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Strict 1 minute rests. Still a killer on those trap bar pulls. Really tried to focus on hip extension vs just unrolling the back. Iād get the belt on at about the 30 second mark of resting, and start strapping up at the 40 second mark, to get myself pulling at the 1 min mark. Was really feeling the ache on the GHRs.
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5 sets on the trap bar pulls, just to increase the misery. 5 sets on the chins and curls, because I didnāt up the training max, so Iām going for more sets. Then went AMRAP on the final set of reverse hypers because I canāt really up the weight on the TM at this point. GHRs and trap bar lifts DID get an increase in weight.
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Intercostal still a little tender, but otherwise in a good way from the grappling comp. Tang Soo Do went well yesterday, and I have more on the schedule for tonight.
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Operation Conan Nightly SITREP
Folks, I crushed leftover night tonight. 2 air fried bone in pork chops (I cooked them last night in prep for tonight, which is a very cheaty way to do leftovers), along with a grassfed beef burger patty (2 partials equaling 1 whole), a touch of leftover white meat turkey, sardines, 5 hardboiled pastured eggs with grassfed ghee, grassfed cottage cheese and cracklin. This was an absolute feast of a meal. Growing suits me.
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How did you do these? Ninja?
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Yup! I was lazy/busy. I sprayed them with duck fat spray, put some salt on it, laid down some parchment paper, air fried at 390 for 20 minutes: 10 minutes per side. More cooked than I prefer, but at the time I was also hard boiling eggs in the instant pot, cooking up Brazilian cheese bread and tater tots in our OTHER air fryer, and seasoning/prepping the steaks, haha.
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Thanks! Really enjoying my Ninja Woodfire and looking forward to trying bone-in pork chops. Great success so far with wings, salmon, and lamb chops.
How thick were your chops? Next time, would you do less time or less heat?
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From Thanksgiving?! How big was that bird?!
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@burien_top_team They were however thick Costco cuts them, haha. I genuinely donāt know. Iād go for less time. 390 is the default setting on the air fryer. I honestly just Kentucky windage it for the most part, but I prefer pork a little less done than most do.
Glad you dig the Ninja! Itās such an awesome product. I was using my indoor one for this one, but the Woodfire is still a fun toy. I hope to break it out this weekend for some ribs.
@BrandonCrawford It was a 20lb bird, but I was the ONLY one in my family eating the leftovers, and honestly even on Thanksgiving day the wife and kiddo werenāt too into it, so Iāve worked me way through it.
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AM WORKOUT (0520 wake up via Valkyrieās alarm)
RESET 20s
5 rounds of 20 seconds on the BAS, 2 minutes rest
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dogs
Notes:
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Got to bed late, and since this was a short workout, I set a later alarm than usual. My dog woke up 3 minutes before that alarm, at which point I did some math and realized I could actually get a little more sleep. Set an alarm for laterā¦and apparently immediately shut it off and went back to sleep. The original plan was to get in some sprints, but when the Valkyrieās alarm went off at 0520, I took stock of the situation and determined I could still get in the Reset 20. Headed down to the basement in my pajamas, no warm up, and just went after it with the 16oz gloves.
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My conditioning on this is improving. I feel myself peter out in the last 3 seconds of the round toward the later rounds, but Iām still able to give this 5 full rounds. Trying to focus on max speed AND power, rather than one vs the other. Technique is absolute and total garbage for this, but at the same time: I wouldnāt want to be hit like this for 20 seconds.
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I may try to get in some sprints this weekend to keep on task about this, but if I donāt, Iām still in program compliance: itās prescribes 1-2 conditioning workouts per week.
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My right knee feels the best itās felt in a LONG time. Waving intensities has been a good idea. Itās almost like Jim Wendler and K. Black and Dan John know a thing or 2 about all this training stuff. This is why I donāt do my own programming.
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Which, on that note, Iāve been looking ahead at Tactical Barbell 1 to figure out my next phase of training in competition prep. Iām landing on Operator each time I circle back. I feel like 3x a week log press will put me in a good way for the medley. Iām debating between SSB squat and SSB front squat for the squat lift. The pro of the former is that it carries over very well to the car deadlift and stones, but itās more taxing on my recovery compared to the latter. Itās been fortuitous that Iāve stuck with the trap bar lift this whole time, as that will carry over well to the car deadlift, and I plan to use the āwith deadliftsā option for Operator to make that happen. For conditioning workouts, Iāll need to train stones on the weekend, since theyāre STUPIDLY loud, and then I can do carry medleys and throws for a workout, and then maybe leave myself an option for a low intensity long workout (most likely a weighted vest walk and a VERY occasional long distance run to prep for that 10 miler).
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With the above, the other variable I have to consider is length of training cycle. I could do 12, 9 or 6 weeks. A lesson to learn from my last contest prep is that prepping for too long will absolutely destroy my body: I basically had to spend 9-12 weeks of Tactical Barbell to HEAL from my last prep phase. 9 weeks feels like a sweet spot. If I pick that route, Iād have 3 weeks to run something else first, which would most likely be another round of Mass Protocol, then 6 weeks of Operator, a bridge week (yet another cruise), then 3 weeks of Operator, bridge week, compete. That sounds pretty solid. I could use Mass Protocol as more of a high rep break in to the Operator phase, push hard for those 6 weeks, take my bridge, then use those final 3 weeks to dial in and get my weight where I need it to be. And yeah: thereās that 10 mile race to kick off that final bridge week. Iām not smart.
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Tang Soo Do tonight. Itās been a lighter week as far as intensity goes. Also, weāre doing āChefs Night Outā for a school fundraiser tonight at āRed Robinā. Iāve already scouted out my meal.
Served with your choice of side. Let the games begin! Our Gold Medal Burger is the pinnacle of mouth-watering accomplishments with three juicy patties, three layers of cheese, Redās relish, mayo, pickles, yellow onion, lettuce and tomato. Go for the glory ā this burger weighs as much as an Olympic Gold Medal.
- I will, of course, get rid of all those offending plants, and replace that monstrosity we call ācheeseā with swiss (I love my country, but we fāked up cheese), and most likely find a way to get some eggs involved, but Iām pretty excited.
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Fair point but those cancer squares taste amazing on a few things lol
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Itās not at all shocking that hyperprocessed junk is also delicious, haha. Youāre not wrong though: an āAmerican Singleā (because we canāt even legally call it cheese) hits right on grilled cheese.
Which, someone pointed out to me: a āgrilled cheese sandwichā is not either of those things. Itās fried, not grilled, and a square of oil, not cheese. Only Americans could market a fried oil sandwich as anything else, haha.
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This is my favorite fun fact. The little hidden ācheese productā label on the packaging
Speaking of marketing fried oil stuff and cheese:
This abomination will never slip my mind lol
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Operation Conan Nightly SITREP
Chefās night out, ordered the āGold Medal Burgerā at Red Robinā¦and told them to hold everything except the meat and cheese. Got the patties with some pink, which was cool, and swiss cheese. Made a bun out of pork cracklin crumbs, 100g of egg whites and a teaspoon of beef gelatin, cooked in a dash iron, and slathered some grassfed sour cream on it. Saddled it with 5 pastured eggs with grassfed ghee, grassfed cottage cheese and cracklin.
Itās funny how this is a ālight mealā these days.
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AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
OPERATION CONAN Spec Ops Insertion Phase
Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol Specificity Bravo, Cycle 2, Week 1, Workout 4
WARM UP
Roll out on LAX ball
50xBW reverse hypers
BW jump squats
Squat sets of bar, 85, 175
MAIN WORK
Buffalo Bar Squat
5x12x230
Lever belt squat
5x12x192.5
Axle strict press
4x12x101 (rest pause last 2 reps of final set)
Axle bench press
4x12x151
(3) Incline DB bench
5x12x50s
Dips
5x12x10lb (rest pause on rep 12 of set 4 and reps 11-12 of set 5)
ASSISTANCE
HLR/BPA circuit (no rest between sets)
3x20/10
TOTAL TRAINING TIME: 62 minutes
BREAKFAST
No walk w/dogs (weather)
Notes:
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Strict 1 minute rests throughout, especially at start with squats. Really wanted to drive that home. With me doing less conditioning than usual, I feel like keeping the rests tight does me favors, and ultimately makes me better than my competition. I also entertain little Deep Water fantasies with this. When I first ran that program, it was 240lbs in the squat, with my low bar style, shorter ROM, at a heavier bodyweight, with longer rests, for fewer reps. I like to convince myself that, if I took it on today, Iād be able to use this squat style and match/beat that.
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My knees continue to feel awesome, and that continues the self-perpetuating cycle of feeling awesome. When my knees feel good, I can squat faster, which means my knees experience less stress, which means they continue to feel better and better. Previously, it was going the other way: knees felt shot, so I squatted slower, so the knees took on more stress and felt worse. Speaks volumes to how much I NEED waved intensities in my training. Zenos always produce results, but they also always take their toll on me. Once again, if I were to modify this program in any way, it would be to employ a Medium-light-heavy layout vs the current Light-Medium-Heavy to REALLY take advantage of that, but for now, Iām sticking with the plan to give it a fair shake. Iāll also say that those jump squats are the smartest thing Iāve done for myself warm-up wise. Iām conditioning my knees to move faster.
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Still using my tricks here: belt for the squats and pressesā¦although that was honestly it. The rest was just all grit.
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Really focusing on trying to move faster on the bench and just pump out the reps. Same with the press. Iām remembering all those things I used to do back when I was a strong presser.
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This one ran a little longer than I care for. Iām not futzing around, but the extra sets all add up. I still made sure to get the ab work in, just a little more rushed than I like, but better that than skipping it entirely.
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Weather is starting to get too cold for the doggos. One is a 14.5 year old pug, and it would do her more harm than good. The other is a puppy and a total princess. My general activity has taken a downturn, as a result, which means picking now as a window for gaining was the right call, and summer will be a good time for leaning out.
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Iāll need to get in one more lifting workout this weekend to get back on schedule.
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My left hand is a little sore from Tang Soo Do last night, as we were attempting some board breaks and my holder was less than competent, so I was slamming into the board quite a few times. We also drilled some roll falls, which is always nice from a Dan John āsurvive falling/getting upā approach.
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