Yup! It’s pretty much my one superpower, haha. I’ve always been really good at doing things that suck longer than other people will. It’s how I’ve won every event in strongman that is basically “hold this object until you can’t”.
This actually dawned on me the other day @twojarslave . I ALWAYS lose the first match in these tournaments, and I was thinking it was because I had to shake off ring rust and just lose that first match, but I started to realize that there’s a fair chance I do better in the second and third match because this is a tournament format, and it means I’m grappling against dudes ALSO having their second and third match, and that they’re just getting more and more gassed as more matches accumulate, while I’m recovering better than they are.
My whole “persistence hunting grappling” strategy at play, haha.
First meal of the “Maximum Definition Diet”. I trained at 0600 this morning and continued the fast until noon today, then had approx 8oz of piedmontese grassfed steak kabobs (cut from the New York Strip) along with 6 scrambled eggs topped with 1 tablespoon of beef tallow. The eggs were leftovers: burning through my supply of them.
First time trying out the tallow: I really like it. Very “beefy”, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it added a nice element to the eggs. I’m trying to limit my butter intake and really stick with the “meat and eggs” approach here. I also had a small piece of beef liver this morning, for nutrients. Curious how this will shake out. I’m still planning on having a middle of the night protein shake, since I train first thing in the morning and it’s nice not to be completely fasted for that, and I may consider some pre-bed protein ala cottage cheese, but otherwise I wanna keep it at 2 meals a day of meat and eggs.
This makes sense to me and like the way you describe it. I could be completely wrong, but there has been a claustrophobic feeling of knowing there are x amount of people everywhere and can’t escape. I don’t take many vacations, but when I do they are usually a long roadtrip, staying at a house removed from population… or, as of last year, a bjj vacation in the woods of Maine. Perhaps, when our youngest gets a bit older (2y/o).
Haha, fortunately never had any sailors get into that much trouble! Though, when they shut down the border for COVID, my SUPPO, who lived in a Tijuana condo, was stranded on the wrong side of the border haha. Rough look for a department head, the CO was pretty pissed about that one.
You are definitely on to something. Your level of conditioning exceeds nearly everyone in BJJ except for top-level athletes. You’re about the same age as my coach was when I first met him, and he was fresh off of a gold medal in Tokyo for Team USA in master’s weightlifting at the time. Few matched his conditioning and athleticism back then, and I doubt he could’ve hung with you for a typical day’s training, even though he was in your current strength ballpark.
To lose your conditioning edge among grapplers, you’ll probably have to seek out elite grapplers like a D1 wrestling school or top level BJJ and Judo guys. The problem with that is they will all easily smash you without breaking a sweat and conditioning won’t even be a factor.
Putting up with suck is the name of the game in grappling and all of fighting. It can be achieved in a variety of ways, as you’ve repeatedly demonstrated.
@dchris Chaos is ALWAYS the plan, haha. And yeah, if road tripping and air BnBs are more your style, a cruise can definitely be confining. But when your youngest gets to be 3 and up, they can be a member of the kid’s club on a Disney Cruise, which is an outstanding club. They do an excellent job taking care of the kids, to the point that they WANT to be in the club vs with mom and dad, haha.
@atlas13 Oh man, that was definitely a stupid game/stupid prize sorta situation, haha.
@twojarslave Definitely appreciate the accolades there, and you definitely identified “the rub” there. I remember running into a similar issue when I was actually taking fighting more seriously: it was hard to find guys that were as strong as me at my level of skill, and once I found guys that WERE as strong as me, they were also so much more skilled than me that the strength was inconsequential anyway. It’s interesting how all the variables seem to scale at the same time.
AM WORKOUT (0235 wake up via dog, tossed and turned until 0355 alarm, not very restful sleep)
Treadmill walk w/45lb vest
Time: 90 minutes
Speed: 4.2 mph
Incline: 1
Distance: 6.3 miles
Notes:
No, that’s NOT the actual name of the workout in TB2, but I’m definitely going to keep calling it that, because that’s how it feels. I wanted to quit on lap 1, as 4.2mph is NOT a comfortable walking stride for me in general, let alone with a 45lb vest on, but by about a mile I had found my stride. Biggest thing was the muscles in my feet weren’t comfortable, and seemed like the small muscles in them needed to “wake up” to the walk. Felt like cramping, and post walk my left foot feels a little sore. This is “getting into running shape” for me: getting all those little small muscles involved in the process to come back to me, because my cardiovascular system can handle it just fine.
On the note of cardiovascular, my garmin said my heart rate got up to 150 on this, so that’s pretty cool. I also chewed gum the entire time as a way to force me to keep my mouth closed and breath through my nose. Which is something I’m also addressing here: part of me taking on Vince Gironda’s Maximum Definition Diet is going to be overcoming my gum addiction. I’m like a smoker: evaluating my usage via the pack, with me at about half a pack a day, and it’s just one more thing for me to overcome. I imagine nothing but benefits from this, as it will be ingesting fewer artificial sweeteners, not disrupting my digestion, not screwing up my hunger/satiety signals, etc. So I’m liming myself to one stick a day, as I tend to have a piece immediately before training or during training like this in order to keep my mouth from going dry. I’ve also cut the cinnamon out of my tea: slashing carbs everywhere.
Further discussion on the Maximum Definition diet, I took pictures of my last 2 meals but forgot to upload them: will do it later. But we lost power yesterday during the blizzard and I was able to improvise by thawing out 6 scrambled eggs from my freezer and pairing it with 2 venison patties I had leftover from Sunday, along with some ghee that I melted into the mix using a lighter, because I’m a Boy Scout like that. And this morning I had a combination of 4 leftover scrambled eggs mixed with 2 egg whites and 1 tablespoon of beef tallow along with another 8oz (estimated: half a 16oz package) of piedmontese grassfed steak kabobs and a piece of beef liver. Sticking with the plan of 2 meals a day, with a middle of the night protein shake, and right now I’m going to continue the pre-bed protein feeding as well, but that will most likely be the next part to fall off. I’ll keep an eye on protein intake in general over the course of 2 meals in a day, but I don’t think I’ll run into issues, given my capacity to eat larger meals in single sittings. I’ll be keeping an eye on hunger, but so far it’s been no issues. I’m not going to be a martyr with this: if I’m hungry, I’m going to eat.
I’ve been sleeping on beef tallow. Holy cow that stuff is awesome.
I weighed in at 82.2kg post workout. That’s closer to “real weight”, but that’s after sweating during the walk as well. Still trying to find stability post cruise.
Tang Soo Do sparring night tonight. I’ll try to be less stupid this time.
One other observation I forgot to make during my many ramblings on my cruise: the smaller ships don’t do steak in the mornings, so I did not do my traditional steak and eggs breakfast on the cruise (which always turns out to be more like 4-5 steaks and 18 eggs). BUT, they DID have smoked salmon and gravlax at every breakfast, and I ate a TON of that with my eyes, and honestly enjoyed that just as much. I just legitimately love salmon, and a lot of fish in general, and could be more than happy to have a daily breakfast of salmon and eggs, which would definitely be an Omega 3 power punch…if only the family was a bit more onboard with the house smelling like fish in the morning.
Talked about those first 2. Final is a classic breakfast for dinner. Each omelete is 3 pastured eggs with turkey, beef tallow and 1 slice of sargento ultra thin swiss (deviation there) topped with grassfed ghee alongside sardines, 3 strips of beef bacon and a piedmontese grassfed jr hotdog
Log clean and strict press away
5x5x150+1 push press rep per set
NG weighted chins
5x5x37.5
ASSISTANCE
5 round circuit, 30 seconds per movement of
24kg KB swing
365lb SSB front rack hold
Dips
Standing ab wheel
Push up
BPA
4x25
BREAKFAST (details below)
Short walk w/dogs
Notes:
This was one of those workouts were I came into it feeling like Hell and ended up performing really well. I’m accumulating a fair amount of fatigue through the week and I’m not eating in a manner that has me in an energy surplus, so I imagine that’s ultimately what’s responsible there. I actually think this was my best workout of the week, feeling very capable in the front squat and powerful on the log clean.
I dorked up something in my left shoulder sparring last night, almost feels like what I did to the right one before my bridge week. Hopefully just a niggle that goes away over the weekend. Didn’t impact training today, but it sucked raising my arm to get it in place for the weighted chins.
On the topic of sparring: much better night last night. Was the Dojang champion for the night after 3 matches. First round was against our resident bully, who, despite this being “no contact” sparring, relies on punching and kicking through guards to score points, and given this guy is taller than me and outweighs me by about 40lbs and employs this tactic on 80lb children in our class, it was good to school him a little. I ended up scoring a lot of body kicks on him, and typically those don’t work, and I realized why: he normally has his belt MUCH higher during sparring week, since we’re not allowed to kick below the belt, and on this day he forgot to do that and suddenly was exposed. Take the W how you get it. Second match was against a kicking technician that I noticed tends to get flat footed when they throw combos, and that they only circle to one side, so I threw a lot of left leg kicks to draw them in one direction and then catch them with a right leg roundhouse. That and some body punches secured the round. Final match was against our “wild child”, who tends to just charge in with a flurry of crap to draw guards/shelling up and them sink in a legit punch. This person had used these same BS tactics to beat my kid in a previous round, so I was wanting to get some redemption. I crouched on the first round and sunk a straight punch down the middle while they were attempting to flurry. On the second round, they actually raced out before our judge gave us the go, trying his charging/intimidation tactic, and I speared him square in the chest with a front push kick/teep that put a huge look of disbelief on him. Final point was like the first one: straight punch up the middle. We also got in some free sparring, where I got to play around a bit. It was ultimately a good active class/day.
Along with all that activity, I got in another walk in the evening, along with another round of sandbag carries and sandbag throws. The bag is feeling more and more natural with the frequent touches: Easy Strength principles continue to work. I ended up with about 24k steps on my watch, and given I can’t wear it at work or at TSD, that’s a solid step count.
Took a photo of breakfast, but it didn’t upload: will have to do it later. But this morning was a 10oz piedmontese grassfed New York strip that I sprayed with some duck fat, alongside 4 scrambled whole eggs and 2 whites with 1 tablespoon of beef tallow and some beef liver. I air fried the steak, and that actually turned out pretty awesome and was convenient because it cooked post workout while I was taking a shower and was ready when I came down. I also was initially against the idea of using the duck fat spray, thinking I should use ghee on the steak instead, but realized that fat from AN animal is still animal fat, and fits within the parameters of “meat (any kind)”, so I went with it. But a funny story on the food choice: I was originally just going to do some canned salmon and sardines to make things easy, until I realized it was Lent and it was Friday. I went to a Catholic high school and a Catholic University…as a non-Catholic. I’ve had enough “no meat Fridays” put upon me in my life that I’m not going to voluntarily sign up for it! So I cooked a steak out of spite, which made it even tastier. …that said, we’re gonna hit up our hibachi buffet for dinner tonight, which is going to be seafood and eggs for me, but at least I got meat on one meal.
On the Maximum Definition diet experiment front: zero hunger issues eating 2 meals with breakfast and dinner. I’m liking the big breakfast post training. I also didn’t have any gum this morning, and I didn’t have any yesterday aside from the piece while I was walking. I’m focusing on drinking more water when I feel a desire for gum. It’s funny how naturally inclined I am to face “challenges”. Being told “ONLY meat and eggs” gives me something to strive for.
Breakfast as described, dinner was hibachi, 3 eggs with a lot of shrimp and a little bit of beef, then oysters and shrimp. Did 1 more round with shrimp, octopus, and oysters
5 per round was good, 6 per round was my top on round 2, 4 per round was the minimum. No missed reps, which was the biggest victory: I’m VERY pleased with that. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Was feeling real stiff before the first rep on the first round. Sparring week tends to get me pretty beat up. Otherwise, supple enough. The front squats have really done a solid job of getting me mobile for lapping the stone.
For sparring week this week, I went up against the Valkyrie in the first round, and we went the distance into overtime and I managed to score a winning sidekick to her torso. As much as I hate to take away reps from her, she smiled at the kick, because it was just perfectly executed. From there, I went up against the kiddo, and pointed out some holes in their guard with a straight punch right down the middle. They adjusted and actually forced me to use some kicks in order to score enough points to draw the match out further. Really proud of them for that. They scored a final 3rd point on me and went on to the semi-finals. When the tournament was officially over, I sparred the dude with the TKD and boxing background, and he promptly threw a spinning back kick right into my genitals, granted me a victory by foul…which is the very definition of a Pyrrhic victory.
Also got in a 3 mile walk with the dog earlier, and my 50 squats and push ups upon waking. May get in a little more walking today as well, but otherwise, Texas Roadhouse for dinner tonight as I take my kid out to see some armored combat “Fight Knight”. I’ll post a photo recap of the meals later.
I MAY also be coming into possession of a Concept 2 rower tomorrow, if a facebook sale goes well. I’m excited about that.
Texas Roadhouse. 2 bowls of hardboiled eggs with a small amount of sour cream (deviation) and a 26oz bone in ribeye (no seasoning) along with about 3oz of my kid’s leftover sirloin.
That ribeye was amazing. It had a ton of marbeling within the steak itself. Quite a treat. And 2 days in a row gum free.
Today was a great general activity day. Got in my 50 push ups and squats upon waking, 3 mile walk with the Valkyrie and our pup, I’m at near 19k steps before the evening is over, and I got in a rep with the 200lb sandbag and 4 throws with the throwbag that all felt like the best I’ve had this whole training cycle.
But beyond that, I scored an AWESOME find on facebook market and picked up a Concept 2 rower for $545. Got it set up in the basement nearby the BAS. Gotta clean up a bit more, but I’m set to execute my follow on plan after this competition.
For Maximum Definition diet update, breakfast was very similar to before: only real difference is I had salmon in the omelet vs turkey. For dinner, we did a piedmontese 93% lean meatloaf and 4 fried pastured eggs, that I topped with some ghee and the leftover fat from the meatloaf. No actual meatloaf photos, since we eat that family style and I’m not going to bust out the camera after serving myself.
Edit: oh yeah, I forgot: Costco had a deal on leg of lamb, making it effectively $5 a pound, so I bought 18lbs of it and have decided on what my breakfast is going to be for the next few weeks. Already cut up a bunch into steaks for this week and possibly next, but when I have more time I intend to put it in the smoker and maybe do some in the air fryer as well.
@shaneinga Thanks so much brother! And outstanding food choices there as well. Ribs are life. When in doubt: always ribs, haha. And I’ll take ribs and eggs over steak and eggs any day.
@Friedrich funny you should bring him up: I mention him in this training update, haha. I do owe him a lot: he introduced low carb/ketogenic dieting to my family in the 90s, and that had SUCH a big impact on me as a result. I’ve never followed his diet exactly, but the influence in undeniable. However, those “Atkins Cookies” destroyed my guts in college, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
12 LABORS: STEALING THREE OF THE GOLDEN APPLES OF HESPERIDES
Log clean and strict press away
5x3x170+1 push press rep per set
NG weighted chins
5x3x42.5
ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT
5 rounds, 30 seconds per movement of
24kg KB swing
375lb SSB front rack hold
Dips
HLR
Push ups
BPA
4x25
4 minutes on the rower
Notes:
Felt pretty good coming into this, and that’s something I’ve observed with my time on Tactical Barbell Operator: fatigue management is done so well that I never feel too beat up to train, and my performance IN training tends to be pretty sharp. I have some days that are better than others, but I’m pretty much always in a ready state to perform.
Tried to focus on hitting the bottom of the front squat quickly and smoothly, as that seems to be carrying over really well into lapping the stone. On the log, I made it a point to get from start to end quickly. Basically doing my best to disrespect the log. If I build it up in my mind and treat it like a big deal, it will be, whereas if I treat it like an everyday thing, it’ll be that too. On the second set of log I got a little off balanced, but otherwise no issues. The push press is hit and miss, but I’m glad I’m getting in the reps. Chins feel solid: I like the low reps.
The most challenging part of the conditioning circuit continues to be holding that SSB after the swings and regaining my composure/breathing, which I think is going to have excellent carryover to my carry medley. I’m also really trying to “throw” that kettlebell. All this said, there’s a slight chance I miss this competition due to a work obligation, which I’m waiting to hear about, but, in truth, upon discovering that, my world didn’t collapse like it normally does. I’m honestly pleased with how prepping for this competition gave me a good vector for my training and got me to discover just how well this program works out. But, of course, I still want to compete.
Couldn’t help but play with my new toy for a few minutes. Doing my best not to get stupid with the rower this close to gameday: that can come later, but I wanted to at least get a feel for it. If nothing else, I can start developing technique so that, when it’s time to use it, I know what I’m doing.
I weighed in at 81.7kg, which is a 2.9kg drop from last week. Given last week was my weigh in post travel/cruise, this isn’t unexpected at all: I needed to “dry out” and stabilize. I DO feel like this speaks well of how beneficial the Maximum Definition diet is when it comes to drying out in this matter, similar to the Atkin’s induction phase or the Dukan Diet phase 1 or any other phasic diet approach. There’s also the element of me being 3 days “gum sober”, so I’m dealing with less bloating and a significantly reduced artificial sweetener intake. Either way, it bodes well, I am once again below my weight class and in a good place.
…which leads us into breakfast, which is also a fantastic combination of Gaston and Hercules/Heracles (I prefer the greek spelling, but no one else does). 1lb (ish) of grassfed New Zealand leg of lamb that I cut into steaks, sprayed with duck fat and some salt and air fried at 425 for 8 minutes, alongside 3 pastured hard boiled eggs and 4 egg whites mixed with grassfed beef tallow. Yup: lamb for the greek, eggs for Gaston: try to find a more anabolic pairing right there. The original intent was 8oz of lamb, but I realized that tonight will be my family meal, which is traditionally lower in protein due to the higher carb content, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to get in whatever I’m missing. I’m going to play the rest of the week by ear, as I’ve got the lamb cut into 8oz (ish, I’m no butcher) portions and I’ve been able to stock up on egg whites to be able to manipulate my protein content as needed. Given I’m below my weight class now, I’m not too concerned about overeating, but I also know not to “overcorrect” in that regard. Once the competition is over and I don’t need to worry about making a weight class, I’m definitely just going to play it all by ear and go full Gironda on it.
Family meal tonight is going to be some farmer’s casserole and some wonderful oatmeal/peanut butter/butterscotch/chocolate chunk cookies with honey and skim milk, and then a nice evening walk. The plan keeps on working. This is also, technically, NOT fully in line w/Maximum Definition, as Gironda wants a pure carb meal with no protein for the sake of filling up the muscles, but, as always: being a family man comes first. We can make it all work.
It was the sugar alcohols I imagine. I was driving from Sacramento to Jackson Hole one summer and bought a box of Carb Solution bars and had a shake before I left. By the time I arrived at Wells, Nevada I had to get a hotel room and empty my body I was so sick. I did catch a couple of ball games. The next morning I was fine, but I resolved never to ingest sugar alcohols again. Except for gum.
Oh 100%. I’ve learned after many terrible experience to NEVER eat Maltitol.
And oh man: a road trip is an awful time to experiment with that, haha. I knew 2 dudes that played “Sugar free gummy bear roulette” with similar outcomes. One should NEVER exceed the serving size on those.
‘Chaos is the plan’ even with the weather, eh?
