Ran across this video and thought I would share. Has to do with our back and forth about adding liquid egg whites to protein powder.
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Hey man,
Can you elaborate on the point of your latest blogpost on TB. I found the point on keeping strength, strength and conditioning very hard or easy interesting. It fits in with wath Joel Jamieson says, KB also refers to him.
I am not trying to overthink stuff, but I giant set a lot of things and run Lebiviathan BBS now with the main work in 10 min and the supplemental EMOM. It sure feels like itās working. But things like these make me wonder
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Appreciate all the love folks. Flying home today, will respond directly when I have a keyboard, but more food porn from the trip. We did a cheese cave tour on Ensenada
And this was my final dinner on the cruise: a half chicken, pork tenderloin, and 2 slabs of prime rib. I also finished off the Valkyrie and Kiddoās portion, so it was like 3 total
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I have no wordsā¦
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Man that looks good!
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@shaneinga Funny enough, that IS my familyās policy whenever we do cruises, and it DOES help get in some activityā¦but I definitely donāt think I can burn 1000 calories in 10 minutes with some stairs, haha.
Regarding the egg whites thing: I never sweat that biotin absorption thing. Part of this is the egg whites I drink are pasteurized, so thereās a bit of ācookingā involved there, but the other part of it is: itās not like animals in the wild are out there cooking eggs when they eat them, and they somehow manage to grow. Jon Andersen is drinking the eggwhites from eggwhitesinternational and seems to be growing fine, and I used them for quite a while until they got prohibitively expensive. My thought has always been: if the protein absorption is being limited, just eat more protein, haha.
@Friedrich Donāt bother moving in, because Iām eating out, haha. But it was perfect for recovery.
@Panopticum Always happy to elaborate dude! The big takeaway is: if something is working, donāt change it. Youāre seeing success with your approach, so it doesnāt need fixing. But, for me, I was just banging my head against the same wall, getting hurt more often and not progressing in the way I wanted to progress. And it was because I kept trying to make āthe workoutā be āthe everythingā. I felt like I was wasting training time if I wasnāt absolutely smoked when it was done, not appreciating that, sometimes, building strength is about practicing strength, and sometimes itās about building muscle, and sometimes itās about building conditioning.
Whatās really awesome is, since your current method is working, now you have a plan on what to do when it stops: something more deliberate instead. And when that stops working: back to what worked before.
AM WORKOUT (0358 natural wake up)
12 LABORS: STEALING THE CATTLE OF GERYON
Tactical Barbell Operator Cycle 2, Week 4, Workout 1
MAIN WORK
SSB front squat
5x5x220
ALTERNATE w/
Log clean and strict press away
5x5x150+1 push press rep per set
Weighted NG chins
5x5x37.5
ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT
5 rounds, 30 seconds per movement
24kg KB swing
365lb SSB front rack hold
Dips
Standing ab wheel
Push ups
BPA
4x25
Notes
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First workout back from the cruise/bridge week. It had the absolute intended effect: I felt rejuvenated, healed and springy today. My belt was also tighter and I discovered Iām up about 2.4 kg from my last weigh in 2 weeks ago, so that about fits (putting me at 84.6kg). That honestly puts me in a good way for my competition, as Iāve got more runway to drop some weight comfortably. I know I was excited about eating UP to the competition, but given the nature/style of this training, this nutritional approach will suit me better. That said, I also know this isnāt ātrueā weight, and Iāll need to take a little bit of time to re-settle, letting my digestion even out, sweating out the massive salt intake from all the restaurant foods, and just getting my body back to a rhythm. Which, speaking of, tonight is still the family meal, which is going to be spaghetti with piedmontese 93% lean ground beef and some cookies with some raw honey. The plan works; stick with the plan.
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These were some of the best log cleans Iāve had in a long time, and my shoulder totally healed over the break so no issues with the pressing. Push press reps were also very powerful.
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Squat depth sunk nicely. No resistance. Lower back feels strong too.
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KB swings have me really focusing on āthrowingā the bell. Trying to make the most of it.
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On a similar note, I did 1 round of sandbag work yesterday, because itās all I had time for, and Iām thinking I might just try to make that a daily habit alongside some throws. I really need to make it that picking up the sandbag just feels ānaturalā, and I feel like frequency will beat out intensity there.
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Have a family walk planned for later this evening. Good to get in more steps.
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Have a longer update I plan to post, summing up my cruise experience and my training plans for the immediate future.
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@T3hPwnisher Itās OK, I am a senior, we can hit the early bird!
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My family shares the same love for the stairs as yours. For the same reason as well. It sure would be nice if those numbers for cal burn were right though. 
I hear you on the egg whites and you are right, the pasteurization component would take care of this issue. 
As would the idea of just eating more protein.
Welcome back.
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Ok, I have no stucture for this, so letās just bulletpoint it
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My current approach to training has been absolutely restorative, and the cruise proved that to me. I always take the stairs on a cruise, and in Dec/early Jan, on my New Yearās Cruise, my right knee was in total agony the entire time I did this. I was braced for this same situation for this cruise, but there was no pain at all on any of the stairs for the entire time I was there. Changing my squat style back to something closer to what I was doing before was the absolute right call, and itās paying off in keeping me pain free in other parts as well. Since the knee feels good, Iām not shifting load to my hips, which has allowed them to heal up too, and it means the event work doesnāt beat me up too much. About the only issue Iām running into is I still experience pain in the knee if I sit for long periods of time in certain chairs/positions. It seems like this pain is more nerve related: if something presses on my hamstring for too long, it triggers pain along the patella. I may get that looked at some point.
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On the cruise itself, I hit the fitness center up one time, while the wife and kiddo were playing Bingo, and got in a very bro workout of just trying to get in a big pump using a lot of machines, followed by a walk. I packed a bunch of resistance bands, and used them to get in another little pump workout 2 other times, and I started every morning with 50 prisoner squats, 50 push ups, 40 sit ups and 10 leg raises. Otherwise, my focus was on walking/activity, and I actually hit a step PR of over 30k steps on a day when the Mrs had a massage booked and the kiddo had some activities to attend. Walked out on the pool deck in a pair of flip-flops for 90 minutes listening to podcasts and taking in some sun. In general, itās awesome that training no longer consumes me.
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Having said that, I noted during my bro workout just how weak my back has become. It used to be my strongest feature and, in turn, I used to be much stronger. The correlation has to be appreciated. In turn, the back is going to be a big priority of mine for my training once this competition is over. More on that in another bullet.
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Regarding the competition: I learned that I was preparing for an event incorrectly. The car deadlift will NOT be a side handle deadlift, as itās been in every other competition Iāve ever done. This will be my first ever front bar car deadlift, which I am VERY excited about, because I feel like it looks so much cooler and Iāve never done that before. But this also means my training will be changing, as I will be scrapping the trap bar and bringing a straight bar back into my deadlift training.
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This actually melds into where my future training will go as well. Iāll be sticking with the Tactical Barbell deadlift approach of having 1 day a week to train the movement, but Iām going back to ROM progression that has worked for me so well in the past. A single set, along with rest pausing for 2 more pulls. My plan is to continue with this indefinitely. Itās what works for me, it always has, and I feel like Iām healed up enough that it can work again within the context of Tactical Barbell. It IS a deviation from the protocol, but Iām willing to accept that risk. With the way my schedule is set up, Iāll be able to do 3 weeks of the cycle, take a bridge week which culimates in me competing, then start a new Tactical Barbell program while continuing the cycle to finish within the span of 3 weeks. At that point, Iāll have another 5 weeks of training time available before my next cruise, so Iāll most likely start a cycle again and ride it to just shy of pulling off the floor, then evaluate from there. Planning on starting with 405, making myself humble and just rebuilding the strength in me. I may use my gateway briefs as well.
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Regarding that āother Tactical Barbell programā, my plan is to continue with TB1 style training and transiiton from Operator to Zulu. As much as I dislike lifting 4x per week, the shorter workouts will allow me to still get in a decent amount of conditioning work, and I also plan to use my time after the main lifts to really prioritize bodybuilding the back. I intend to continue leaning out through this process, as, once again, Iām going on a medeterranian cruise at the end of this, in the summer, and Iāll like to come in as lean as I can to look awesome at the pool AND to be able to absolutely eat my face off with amazing medeterranian/cruise food. Upon my return, Iāll evaluate if I want to begin Mass Protocol or resume TB1 style training.
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I also am intending to invest in a serious rower, specifically a concept 2, but a used one. I have a ārowerā, but itās a 2-in-1 rower/bike combo spacesaver that isnāt meant for serious use and, in turn: I have not seriously used it. As much as walking is my preferred physical activity, my theory is that, if I spend more time on the rower, this will ALSO help bring my back up to where I want it to be. Basically a way to get in even more back work volume, but without the eccentric load to worry about. With the variety of conditioning workouts in Tactical Barbell, I feel like I can find a place to hit the rower after the strength work is done on my workouts. And once my 10 mile race is done, I wonāt have nearly as much running to prioritize. Iām also planning on NOT making heavy pulling a part of the strength workouts: relegating the back work to lower intensity bodybuilding-esque stuff.
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I donāt want to go back to doing daily work, but I DO feel like doing daily chins will be a benefit to me. Iām going to keep the volume low to start and ease back in (after my competition of course). DB rows are going to be a feature too, not daily, but for the bodybuilding, as those always worked well for me. I got lazy, because I donāt like unilateral work since it takes twice as long, but I canāt argue with results.
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Nutrition is soon going to take a pivot toward something similar to Vince Girondaās āMaximum Definition Dietā aka āSteak and Eggs Dietā. My stash of Metabolic Drive is running out, leading to this pivot, but Iāve also always wanted to give it a try. Vince suggets 3 meals a day, but Iām planning on sticking with 2: breakfast and dinner. My time on the cruise has demonstrated to me that 3 meals a day is honestly just way too many damn meals, which my bodyweight gain is also pretty good evidence of. Brad Kearns and Mark Sisson released a book a few years back titled ā2 meals a dayā that talks to a similar effort as well. I also enjoy feasting when I eat, and would rather have 2 large meals than 3 moderate ones. I will not make able to make it steak and eggs for each meal each time, primarily because I prioritize eating with my family over program compliance, and theyāre not going to be onboard with steak for dinner every night, but I can meet the intent of meat and eggs for each meal (which is actually what Vince prescribes in his book āBuilding the Wild Physiqueā, so thereās a win). If I find this approach unsustainable, Iāll implement a midday meal as well, but honestly, the longer I do this, the more that ālunchā just seems ridiculous to me.
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Thanks for the reply, you have a gift for simplifying haha.
I ran 531 FSL and after that 5s pro SSL while supersetting everything in and it worked! But my weight started moving down slower at a point. Now I hammer Leviathan in 10 minutes w BBS@FSL EMOM and blast assitance after that in a circuit and I lost some weight WHILE bringing up my kcals. The body wants to do funny things when you surprise it.
During this maintainance/slight bulk because I am eating too much junk, I am bringing up easier cardio. I need a bigger base. Most people who lift do I feel
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@Panopticum Appreciate the kind words dude! I have a feeling that you bringing up the cals allowed you to train HARDER, which may have resulted in the loss of weight there. And fully concur: we need a big WIDE base to build upon.
AM WORKOUT (0435 wake up via dog, snoozed until 0510 Valkyrie alarm)
12 LABORS: STEALING THE CATTLE OF GERYON
Tactical Barbell Operator Cycle 2, Week 4, Workout 2
āOXYGEN DEBT 101ā
4 rounds of
- 200m sprint ā 30 second rest ā 200m sprint ā 30 second rest ā 200m sprint
- 3 min rest
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dogs
Notes:
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Really felt āonā today. The final round had me dragging a little, but aside from that, solid explosiveness, broke my lungs, and got my heart rate up to the 120s. Focused on midfoot striking, high stepping and getting my arms moving. This is definitely my preferred HIC workout, Iām glad Iāve settled into a pattern of this. Also fits well to be the morning after my evening family meal. Spaghetti with grassfed piedmontese beef sauce, some garlic bread, and 4 of the Valkyrieās cookies with some local honey and fairlife skim. I realized it was my first meal with carbs in 2 weeks, and that my physique was also looking pretty flat leading up to that, so something there. During my 2 week travels through Italy and Greece this summer, I may have to break patter and eat some local carbs, which, given the location, wonāt be the worst thing.
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I also got in a 3 mile walk with the family last night, and then got in a round with the sandbag and 5 throws with the throwing bag. Doing my best to make those daily habits leading up to the competition. Iām feeling explosive on the throwing bag.
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Tang Soo Do sparring night tonight. Tomorrow, weāre supposed to have a blizzard, so that most likely scraps more TSD plans.
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The rest of this is stuff I meant to throw into my observations posts. I always forget stuff and then re-remember it. One of them was that, on my cruise, as I continued to stuff my face at so many meals, I observed my resting heart rate climb each day, going from 37 up to 41-42 by the end of the week. I feel like this speaks to the notion of NEAT increasing as a result of energy intake, which is why CICO is a bit confusing, because the CO portion of the equation changes WITH the CI portion. But given that my bodyweight also increased, thereās something to be said about that also driving my heart rate increase.
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I went and visited the old mall by my house that I grew up with, because Iām a sucker for nostalgia. While I was there, a group of teenage boys with bad attitudes were taking up the entire aisle and forcing people off the path while they were obliviously joking and chatting with each other. I made it a point to walk in the middle of the aisle and force them to become aware and break up their formation. It was an incredibly petty thing to do, but with me turning 40 this year, itās nice to know I still āgot itā.
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@Atlas13 , I figured youād get a kick out of this. While on the cruise, we got to talking with a āfairy godmotherā, which is a hairstylist that works on the ship and does makeovers on kids in the ābippity boppity boutiqueā. She was from LA, and had 3 other godmother friends: one from Mexico, one from Japan, one from the UK. This was the shipās first sailing out of San Diego, as they had just returned from touring Australia all winter. When they made it to port, the other 3 asked this godmother to show them around San Diego, because she had the most exposure, so off they went to In-n-Out and Dunkin Donuts. The whole time, all I could think of was that these 4 fairy godmothers were inevitably going to run into some sailors who made it to San Diego on shoreleaveā¦and just image the chaos that unfolds when these two forces meet. Iām sure you have supervised some young sailors that reported back to duty with a new fairy godmother bride, haha.
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lol I got a chuckle out of this
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Oh you have no idea how accurate this is haha. I once had to pick up a young gunners mate from the port authority police after he tried to sneak onto a cruise ship with his newest love of his life. (This particular sailor had many loves of his life, and was married 3 times and divorced 2 in the 2 years I had him)
Edit: I think it was port authority? I donāt actually know the names of who the cruise ship works for, but he was very drunk in a small building outside the cruise ship when I came to get him
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Nice to know Iām not the only one who does this to the young blokes. Lol
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@Lonnie123 @wiseman83 In my mind, Iām becoming the Punisher from Garth Ennisā Max run: 60 years old and still waging the war, haha.
@atlas13 Hah! I knew you had to have a story like that. I think Port Authority is the right name there. But at least they were on the right side of the border! Heard too many stories about trying to get folks out of Tijuana jail.
AM WORKOUT (0530 wake up via storm, snoozed until 0540 Valkyrieās alarm)
12 LABORS: STEALING THE CATTLE OF GERYON
Tactical Barbell Operator Cycle 2, Week 4, Workout 3
MAIN WORK
SSB front squat
3x5x220
ALTERNATE w/
Log clean and strict press away
3x5x150+1 push press rep per set
Log clean
2x200
(6) Texas deadlift bar mat pull
13+5+5x405
ASSISTANCE
Core circuit (no rest between sets)
Reverse hyper
3x10x180
HLR
3x10
Axle curls
1x50
Band pushdowns
1x35
BPA
2x50
Notes:
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I woke up really stiff and sore. I imagine the combination of coming back from my bridge week, the daily sandbag carries, and sparring last night manifested itself, and the restless night of sleep during the the thunderstorms leading up to the blizzard (yes, living in Nebraska is absolutely wild) all manifested there. Knowing that today was going to be a heavy day with the log cleans and the mat pulls, I exercised my privilege to employ 3 sets vs 5 on the main work, and it was the absolute right call. The sets I did were strong, and I had enough juice in me for the rest of the work I had in store.
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Today is the most deviant day for the program, but Iām still meeting intent. The log cleans are āextraā work and the mat pulls are going above rep prescription, but itās 1-3 sets of a deadlift variant done once a week. And, ultimately, Iām willing to own the consequences of my decisions.
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As previously mentioned, moved back to mat pulls because my car deadlift event is going to be a front pull vs side handle, so the trap bar no longer serves the purpose needed. That said, I felt plenty strong on the mat pull, so I didnāt lose anything with my combination of trap bar and KB swings.
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On the mat pulls themself, I didnāt go totally to my limit. First time back in a while, told myself ādonāt do anything stupidā, and somehow listened to myself. I DID notice some real bad acid reflux like symptoms on the first set of pulls, so I need to re-adjust to vasalva under those conditions.
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Log cleans felt awesome. I shut it down at 2 to end on a victory, but Iām definitely feeling strong and capable there.
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Got in a 3 mile walk, a sandbag rep, 5 throws and some decent sparring yesterday. Today, with the blizzard, none of that will be happening, although I MAY still try to pick up my sandbag, just to get in a daily rep of that. On the sparring front, most of my work came in the warm-ups: I washed out in the first round. Got too impatient and tried to put my dude away too quickly. He capitalized on my openings. I have to give some of these kids some credit: theyāre good at playing the game.
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Iām barely two states away and it was 84F yesterday. This area of country is so odd weather wise.
Between your cruise write upās and a good friend of mine leaving tomorrow for one, Iām starting to debate whether I try one out. Iāve always fallen into the cliche camp of āstuck on a ship with thousands of peopleā doesnāt sound appealing.
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We were in the 80s yesterday too! Got that walk in while wearing a pair of shorts.
If this ends up happening to you, you ended up picking a terrible cruise line. You SHOULD have multiple opportunities to get off the ship (reference my cheese tour above), hitting various ports, doing shore excursions/tours, etc.
I see the cruise ship itself as a combination hotel and travel, and thatās why I prefer it versus any other family vacation venue. Iāve been on SO many vacations where all the logistics fall apart: hotel reservations canceled on us, resturants closed down or the local food just sucks in general, flights canceled and we have to scramble to find transportation, etc. You get on the ship, and ALL of that is sorted out. You never need to worry about where youāre going to sleep, where youāre going to eat, or how youāre going to get to your next destination.
Now, if you view hotels in a similar manner (Iām stuck in this place with thousands of other people), or air travel (Iām stuck on this plane with a bunch of other people) and prefer to do road trips in RVs, then yeah: this is most likely a bit too confining and claustrophobic.
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Oxygen debt 101, the HIC session that is focused on pain tolerance is your favorite, you donāt say haha!
Please donāt make me do the thing where I explain that Iām not a masochist 
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I am well aware you are not, but you can put up with a lot of punishment to get results
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